UM regents to be briefed Friday on football probe

The University System of Maryland’s governing body will be briefed Friday on the results of an investigation into the University of Maryland, College Park’s football culture after the death of 19-year-old offensive lineman Jordan McNair and subsequent media reports that the team was ruled by bullying and intimidation. The briefing will be held in closed session during the Board of Regents’ regularly scheduled meeting in Hagerstown. The board will meet again in closed session Tuesday morning in Baltimore to further discuss the investigation results and begin making recommendations, according to a Wednesday news release. But it could be an additional week before the board publicly shares the investigation’s findings. The board assumed control in August of a pair of investigations into the state flagship’s football team after McNair died of heatstroke following a summer practice. The first review — the results of which were released Sept. 21 — was commissioned to analyze protocols and procedures related to the teenager’s death. It found athletics staff made a slew of errors May 29, the day McNair fell ill during practice. University President Wallace D. Loh has publicly said the school takes “legal and moral responsibility” for mistakes in treating McNair. The second investigation was tasked with examining allegations of a “toxic culture” on the team. “We have said from the beginning that, if true, the allegations related to the culture of the football program at the University of Maryland, College Park are unacceptable,” Board of Regents Chair James Brady said in a statement. “We have also said we are determined to get all the facts possible before acting.” While the regents have the power to fire university presidents, they don’t have jurisdiction over athletics department personnel.