What You Need to Know in Fall 2025: Athletics and Recreation

Didn’t get to enjoy the University of Maryland football team’s 39-7 season-opening whooping of the Florida Atlantic Owls last weekend? Fear not! Students, faculty and staff still have ample opportunity to take in “Fear the Turtle” fun, starting with Friday night’s gridiron game vs. Northern Illinois and spanning sports all season.

And besides the DI excitement on the fields and courts across campus this semester, Terps have plenty of ways to flex their own muscles through hundreds of University Recreation and Wellness (RecWell) offerings, from club and intramural teams to fitness classes and outdoor adventures.

Here’s the game plan for how to embrace sports and rec on campus:

Much has changed for Maryland Athletics this summer, including Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics Jim Smith taking the helm and new Division I guidelines on revenue-sharing with student-athletes going into effect. But the steps for students, faculty and staff to attend home games remain largely the same. They just need their university ID for free entry, with the exception of football and men’s basketball events.

Student activity fees also cover those sports, but tickets must be claimed in advance by logging into “Student Central” at umterps.com/student using their university credentials. (While not mandatory, Maryland Athletics also encourages them to claim women’s basketball tickets in advance.)

For football, claim periods open at 8 a.m. three Tuesdays before each game and close at the same time the following Thursday. One exception this year is that for the Oct. 11 matchup vs. Nebraska, which falls during UMD’s new fall break, the claim period will open four Tuesdays prior to give Terps even more time to plan.

Requesting men’s basketball tickets works similarly, but the claim periods are more varied since the team often has more than one game per week. Tickets for all women’s basketball games will be available to claim prior to the season.

For both football and basketball, if the number of requested tickets exceeds supply, Maryland Athletics implements a loyalty-based lottery system. Students earn more points, or entries, by attending more games, and they lose points if they claim a ticket they don’t return or use. Points are sport-specific and don’t carry over year to year.

Faculty and staff hoping to cheer on the Terps can take advantage of a 20% discount on football and men’s basketball season tickets or reserved seating for women’s basketball games. To drum up even more Maryland pride, Smith offered employees two complimentary tickets to football’s season opener vs. FAU or the Sept. 13 game vs. Towson. (The deadline to claim the Towson tickets is this Monday.)

Each Olympic sport will also host a faculty and staff appreciation game this fall, providing employees with two discounted tickets for guests. Those are slated for field hockey (Sept. 19), women’s soccer (Sept. 28), volleyball (Oct. 15) and men’s soccer (Oct. 24).

Terps football is introducing some fun gameday enhancements, including two new theme games: “Sundown Showdown” vs. NIU on Friday night, complete with free glow sticks, and “Oktoberfest” vs. Nebraska on Oct. 11, with festive in-stadium experiences. A pilot program, Little Terps, Big Cheers, offers two free tickets for fans 13 and younger with the purchase of one adult ticket in the new Family Section 212, with a complimentary in-stadium stroller check and kid-friendly concessions.

And finally, this fall marks the launch of Terpsville Fan Fest, a free event open to all three hours before each home game in Jones-Hill House. Fans can enjoy inflatables, face painting and yard games and can purchase concessions.

“It’s just a place for all Terps fans to really enjoy if they don’t already have their own tailgating home. We want to invite them into ours,” said Rachel Palmer, assistant athletic director for fan development and event marketing. “We think it will add a lot to our gameday atmosphere.”

If spectating isn’t enough action and you’re not one of UMD’s 500-plus student-athletes, you can still get your head in the game through RecWell’s club and intramural teams.

Nearly 5,000 participants suited up for a club sport last year, with Terps now able to choose from 47 offerings. These teams compete against other schools and may charge travel fees. Clubs in 2024-25 took more than 300 trips, heading all around the country and even to Bermuda to face opponents in a wide range of sports.

“We not only have club sport organizations that many would expect, such as basketball, soccer, lacrosse, but also have paintball, sailing, ballroom dance, etc. that create exciting opportunities for even more students to be involved,” said Maeve McKinney, interim assistant director of business services, communications and marketing for RecWell.

Intramurals, featuring on-campus Terps-vs.-Terps matchups, also provide an array of options, like futsal and pickleball. Nearly 8,000 took advantage of these sports last year, which also include Terps After Dark events and special tournaments.

Fitness extends beyond the field through RecWell’s slate of programs, including dozens of group classes like Pilates, barre, yoga and boxing. Students taking classes on campus can access the programs and facilities free of charge using their university ID, while faculty and staff can purchase memberships for $184 per semester or $528 per year.

Looking to venture past your comfort zone? The Adventure Program, in partnership with Terps After Dark, is bringing back its Sleepaway Camp on Sept. 12 after a successful debut last fall. Camping novices can get a taste of the experience—and, of course, s’mores—in a beginner-friendly environment, right on RecWell’s Challenge Course. And the program’s Bouldering Zone—the indoor counterpart to its popular Climbing Wall, also introduced last year—is now accepting reservations.

For a different kind of play, a new esports center is powering up in October in the former location of the convenience shop in the Cambridge Community. Featuring 40 gaming stations, it will be open for both competition and more laidback play.

With something for everyone, getting involved with RecWell is a great way to form connections early in the semester, McKinney said.

 “You can find community with other Terps and at the same time, be active and live well,” she said.