After the Terps football team slid to its sixth straight loss at home Saturday, speculation about coach Mike Locksley’s future has been mounting.

But Locksley will return for an eighth season at Maryland, athletic director Jim Smith confirmed Sunday — and will have considerably more financial resources at his disposal.

ESPN was first to report that Smith, who began his role at Maryland in July, decided to keep Locksley, who is 36-41 in his most recent tenure with the football program. Locksley led the Terps to three straight bowl appearances (and wins) from 2021-23 but has never had a winning conference record in the Big Ten.

Smith wrote an open letter to fans, however, suggesting Locksley had been undermined by changes in college athletics over the last two years that left Maryland outgunned in the financial arms race.

“To continue building on this foundation, Coach Locksley needs — and deserves — the full support of our department, our university, and all of Terp Nation,” Smith wrote. “We are fully committed to giving him and our student-athletes the resources and investments necessary to succeed. I have worked closely with Coach Locksley to rapidly strengthen our NIL support for 2026 and beyond, with a clear and focused effort on roster retention, recruiting, and being highly competitive in the transfer portal.”

Locksley was hired and had his contract extended by Smith’s predecessor, Damon Evans, who left for Southern Methodist University in March. Smith had previously affirmed support for Locksley, but since starting the season 4-0, the football program has seen a steady backward slide against conference foes.

With recent losses to Rutgers and Illinois, two midtier Big Ten programs, the Terps need to beat No. 18 Michigan and Michigan State to qualify for a bowl game.

One area where the Terps have consistently come up short is funding. CBS Sports reported last week that Maryland spent $37 million on football in 2024, less than all but one of its peers (Purdue) and much less than the conference average ($58.2 million). Smith said Locksley would have significantly more resources for 2026 through the university’s name, image and likeness funding, which has coalesced into a single collective under new NIL rules.

Locksley’s recruiting has netted promising local players, including quarterback Malik Washington and defensive linemen Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis. Locksley’s prized recruit in the 2026 class is Zion Elee, a five-star lineman for Baltimore powerhouse St. Frances Academy.

Although Smith wrote that he felt frustration with the team’s 4-6 record, he affirmed that the program hopes to compete for Big Ten championships, something it has never come close to doing since joining the conference in 2014.

“Our goals remain clear: build a program that competes for Big Ten Championships and earn a place in the College Football Playoff,” Smith wrote. “Achieving those goals requires consistency, commitment, and alignment at every level.”