COLLEGE PARK — Jim Smith gets why he’s here. He may get it more than anyone.

Maryland’s new athletic director waited patiently in the front row as his higher-ups touted the things about his new job that don’t really matter.

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti solemnly reminded the hundred-odd donors in a packed hotel ballroom that college sports is, first and foremost, an academic affair. “We need leadership focused on that mission,” he said.

School President Darryll Pines talked about how Smith, who comes from an executive role with the Atlanta Braves, has values and a mission in line with the university’s own, and touted — among other things — how nine Maryland teams have perfect Academic Progress Rate scores this year.

Smith, however, is all about business — and that’s exactly what Maryland needs.

“We’re going to focus on revenue,” Smith said. “Because make no mistake about it: To compete with the caliber of schools not just in the Big Ten but across the country, we must increase our revenues. So we’re going to be trying a few new things.”

For the longest time, the truth that no one wanted to say out loud is that college sports were about the size of the budget, not the number of degrees. That thin veneer has been peeled away, even if administrators still say the goal is to educate — as if flying to conference games between New Jersey and California is a conducive learning environment and not merely a ploy to strengthen the Big Ten’s bottom line.

In hiring Smith, the Terps are embracing the truth that the NCAA is a professional environment, complete with name, image and likeness opportunities and soon revenue sharing. Smith has college experience as the president and CEO of the Ohio State alumni association — and, of course, the Buckeyes are one of the Big Ten rivals the Terps are chasing. But more important, clearly, is Smith’s pro tenure in MLS, MLB and, yes, even World Wrestling Entertainment.

“I wasn’t a wrestler,” he said. “But I learned a lot from the WWE about the importance of branding and fan engagement.”

Maryland sorely needs new ideas in those departments.

It has the second-lowest revenue in the Big Ten, and even in its best football seasons it has not appreciatively competed for a conference title. Smith’s challenge is to drag the Terps upward from the undercard to the main event in both those areas.

The biggest discussion around Maryland athletics for the last few months has been about whether it has the resources to compete. Former men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard, who it is now clear was angling for a new job at Villanova, raised the issue but ruffled feathers all the same. The muttering from alumni has been that they wished Willard hadn’t made the university look bad on the way out.

The criteria the Terps established to hire their new AD were meant to bring in someone who knows how colleges work but can think outside the traditional structure. Smith, whose very name feels unassuming and anonymous, has achieved some big things outside of the NCAA box, the latest being the MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta which he’ll see through this July. It should not be overlooked that Petitti, who flew in for Smith’s intro, also joined the Big Ten from the MLB ranks.

Maryland is acutely aware of how short it’s coming up in revenue, NIL, football attendance and donor base — and actively sought someone who could bring new ideas to the table.

“College sports are really the minor leagues,” said Barry Gossett, the namesake super donor of Smith’s new position. “Everybody wants to get paid, so if we’re going to pay people to do that, we gotta have a different program and different approach.”

Pines excitedly said during an all-too-brief Q&A that Smith has introduced revenue-generating concepts that “I’ve never heard of,” which the Terps hope will start helping them wade a little closer to the top. Gossett’s vision and hope are that Marylanders at large start seeing the Terps as “their” team on Saturdays and identify more tightly with the biggest school in the region.

Money is the way forward, however you cut it. The Terps have won 49 conference championships in a multitude of sports since joining the Big Ten. They have many great coaches who lined the room Thursday, from basketball’s Brenda Frese to soccer’s Sasho Cirovski. But they lag among Big Ten (and really most power conference schools) in the bottom line, something that predecessor Damon Evans never could change.

Football is generally accepted as the sport that leads to that promised land, but coming off a 4-8 season and with a possible freshman starting quarterback, coach Mike Locksley will be under serious pressure to put the program back on an upward trajectory.

Smith talked about filling SECU Stadium and XFinity Center — “with Terps fans,” he qualified (because it has not always been Maryland alums in those seats). He talked about the copious opportunities to grow the athletic department’s revenue. Although he did mention Maryland’s high academic standard, it was only in passing — those aren’t the numbers he needs to raise.

The only time Smith looked even a little stiff on his feet was during the Maryland fight song, as he searched the crowd for clues on when to pump his fist. He’ll clearly need a little time to learn the words outside of “Go Maryland!”

But, when it comes to the money, Smith’s head start looks a lot more promising. Terps fans will soon see if he knows what he’s doing, but there’s no doubt as to why he’s here.