Maryland president Dr. Darryl J. Pines (L) teased a "major announcement," which was about Kermit the Frog rather than Kevin Willard (R). Maryland president Dr. Darryl J. Pines (L) teased a “major announcement,” which was about Kermit the Frog rather than Kevin Willard (R). (Images from President Pines on X, @PirateAlice on Flickr, and Eakin Howard/Imagn Images.)
By Andrew Bucholtz on

The Maryland Terrapins’ run to the Sweet 16 of the men’s NCAA Tournament has come with a surprising amount of off-court drama. Much of that centers around the future of head coach Kevin Willard. But those hoping a teased announcement from school president Dr. Darryll J. Pines would involve an extension for Willard were greatly disappointed Wednesday when that turned out to be… about famed Muppet Kermit the Frog.

Here’s the teaser and the announcement:

Some context here is necessary. Willard has made a number of headlines this tournament, including discussing athletic director Damon Evans’ departure for SMU before that became official, plus public complaints about limited athletic department support for NIL funds and travel. He’s had several dustups with media around those issues, reports of him potentially leaving for Villanova, pieces suggesting he’s pulling a “power play,”  and how he now doesn’t want to talk about any of this “situation.”

But there were notable reports of the school working on a new deal with Willard that would make him a top 10 coach in terms of pay. And some of the conversation there came with suggestions that Pines needed to take the lead on the deal given Evans’ departure (the athletic department is currently led by interim AD Colleen Sorem, but she’s only one of the mentioned candidates for the full job). And that’s led to a whole lot of complaints and jokes about Pines’ teased “exciting announcement” being Kermit rather than anything around Willard:

There are obviously many things in the job description of a school president beyond just negotiating with the men’s basketball coach. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with the school announcing the Kermit commencement news this week; there are lots of things going on at Maryland beyond just the men’s basketball program. But the tease of a “major announcement” from the official X account of the school president, who had been publicly linked to the Willard negotiations, might not have been the best move considering what that announcement actually was.

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

View all posts by Andrew Bucholtz