Maryland tried a bold fix for a hollowing-out stadium on Halloween weekend: free tuition.
It still didn’t bring the students back in any real numbers.
The Terrapins’ home crowd was sparse from the start and stayed that way through a 20-17 loss to Illinois, even after the school dangled a chance at free in-state tuition for students who remained through the fourth quarter. Maryland had already fired head coach Mike Locksley earlier this month after the team opened 2-5, and the attendance issues that have followed were on full display at Memorial Stadium.
The scene at kickoff told the story. One observer called it “The smallest crowd at any game I’ve attended, and I was in Memorial Stadium for Illinois-Northwestern in 2017.”
Even with Maryland in front 14-10 in the third quarter, the student section still had plenty of empty seats. After the free-tuition finalists were announced, even fewer students were standing and sticking around.
According to ESPN, Maryland emailed students before the game to tell them that anyone who stayed through the fourth quarter could enter a raffle for free in-state tuition for the spring 2027 semester, valued at $5,507.50. The school also put a QR code on the jumbotron so students could sign up for the drawing.
In the end, one student did cash in. The prize went to Bryce Hartle, an engineering major at Maryland.
The game itself stayed tight all the way to the finish. Maryland tied it at 17 with a 46-yard field goal, but Illinois answered with a walk-off field goal by Ethan Moczulski to leave College Park with the win.
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