Tour the New Home of Terps Football

The University of Maryland football team has a new home—or, more specifically, a new House.

The Terps today got their first look at Jones-Hill House, a state-of-the-art facility in Cole Field House named in honor of Billy Jones, who became the first Black basketball player at Maryland and in the ACC in 1965, and Darryl Hill, who broke the same color barrier in football in 1963. It will officially open as the headquarters of Maryland football on June 14.

“This is a first-class, first-rate facility, and I couldn’t be more proud of the individuals who worked so hard to put this together,” said Athletic Director Damon Evans. “(Jones and Hill) set the standard for people such as myself and (Head Football Coach) Mike Locksley and a lot of our student-athletes to be able to attend an institution such as the University of Maryland. … So it’s fitting that this building is named after those two trailblazers.”

Among the new facility’s features are a 24,000-square-foot strength and conditioning area with 22 custom weight racks; a locker room with recliners and wireless phone chargers for each player; a sports medicine space with hydrotherapy pools; a 10,000-square-foot dining area; indoor and outdoor practice fields; and wall after wall of inspiring Terp quotes, facts and photos from Maryland football history.

“It was like Christmas in June,” Locksley said of seeing the facility for the first time. “This is a statement that we are serious about football.”

Jones-Hill House, announced by President Darryll J. Pines during his inauguration speech in April and supported through a leadership gift from Under Armour founder and Executive Chairman Kevin Plank ’96, completes the athletic portion of the Cole Field House project, which will integrate academics, research and innovation. Work on a new site for a campus-wide entrepreneurship center will begin this summer, and planning is under way for space to house the interdisciplinary Brain and Behavior Institute.

Take a tour through some of the highlights of the new facility below:

Besides state-of-the-art training and sports medicine facilities, Jones-Hill House, the new home of Maryland football, includes offices, meeting rooms, a player lounge and more. “This building shows excellence, which sets a standard,” Head Coach Michael Locksley said. (Photo by John T. Consoli)

The strength and conditioning room is four times the size of the Terps’ previous one in the Gossett Football Team House. The weight racks feature facial recognition and video technology to track student-athletes’ reps and speed, and the room also includes 40 yards of turf for speed and agility training. (Photo by Greg Fiume)

The locker room houses 126 lockers, each with a recliner, a wireless phone charger and storage space with vents to keep equipment cool and dry. (Photo by Greg Fiume)

A massive Maryland flag hangs on the Jones-Hill House windows off the main lobby, offering scenic views of Maryland Stadium and UMD’s campus. (Photo by John T. Consoli)

Billy Jones (left), who broke the color barrier in Maryland and ACC basketball in 1965, and Darryl Hill, who accomplished the same in football in 1963, stand on the Jones-Hill House indoor practice field. The two trailblazers toured the facility named in their honor on Friday. (Photo by John T. Consoli)