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University System of Maryland Board of Regents Chair James Brady resigns
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Just days after making the recommendation on behalf of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, chairman James Brady is resigning from his position. The announcement came shortly before 5:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Brady met with the media to discuss the status of head football coach DJ Durkin and athletic director Damon Evans. The board made the recommendation to reinstate Durkin as the program’s coach and Evans remain as athletic director.
Brady, and the board’s decision, came under harsh scrutiny from the media, players, government officials and current students attending Maryland. On Wednesday, University of Maryland President Wallace Loh fired Durkin just one day after his reinstatement.
Thursday evening, Brady issued a statement regarding his resignation. The announcement was posted to the USMD.edu website:
In recent months, the board has engaged in a deep and thorough process of responding to issues arising out of the tragic death of Jordan McNair. I am very proud of that process.
From the beginning, we were determined to get all the facts before making the judgments and decisions we believed were in the best interest of the University of Maryland, College Park and its student-athletes. We hoped the lessons we would learn would positively affect student-athletes at universities across the system, the state and the nation…
In recent days, I have become the public face of both the board and its decisions related to these matters. In my estimation, my continued presence on the board will inhibit its ability to move Maryland’s higher education agenda forward. And I have no interest in serving as a distraction from that important work.
Accordingly, I will step down from the Board of Regents immediately.
Brady had been a member of the board for three years, according to his statement.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB