Impact Of A Scholarship: Curtis Rountree

Growing up in the state of Maryland will make you understand just how important the sport of lacrosse is.

Nicknamed the lacrosse capital of the world, the University of Maryland is at the forefront of prestigious lacrosse play as its men’s and women’s teams have dominated the college lacrosse landscape for years. 

Former Maryland men’s lacrosse player Curtis Rountree grew up a fan of the Terps but never thought he could live out his dream as a Maryland lacrosse player. That was until hard work and determination put him on the school’s radar and officially made him a part of its family.

“I never thought I would be the caliber of player that would be good enough to be at Maryland,” said Rountree, who played defense for the Terps from 1980-84. “They had been the best program of the decade pretty much like they are now, and I didn't think they would be interested in me.” 

Rountree is a graduate of the St. Paul’s School, located in nearby Brooklandville, Maryland, and played under their prestigious banner of elite lacrosse. 

It’s something that he proudly boasts about, and it’s even something that helps keep him even closer to the program. 

“This is actually a joke between [head coach John Tillman] and me that St. Paul's is the premier lacrosse program in the history of high school programs and in the history of lacrosse,” Rountree said. “We won more championships and produced more all Americans than any other school. It was such a big deal to get recruited to Maryland the program. It took a while for me to get my head around the fact that Maryland wanted me.”

As a player, Rountree’s claim to fame as a Terp is that he is the only Maryland lacrosse player to play for three different head coaches. As he played for Bud Beardmore in his final season as the Terps’ head coach in 1980, then Dino Mattessich during his three seasons leading Maryland from 1981-83 (including an injury-redshirt season) and Dick Edell’s first year in 1984. “I'm the only person who can say I did that,” he said. “It was a great opportunity.”

Rountree now works as a financial management and accounting consultant and serves the greater Baltimore and Washington area. As a double major at the University of Maryland in economics and business finance, Rountree proved himself just as strong in the classroom as he was out on the field. 

As a scholarship athlete, Rountree saw firsthand all of the benefits that it provided him, but to him, maybe no benefit was greater than the financial aid that he received. 

Both of Rountree’s daughters earned academic scholarships when they went to school, and the former hardshell made it a point to instill in them the importance and significance of having your post-college life be debt-free. 

“My parents had been paying tuition to get for me to go to St. Paul's and the idea that I could now go to Maryland on scholarship and take that burden away from my parents at that time was very important to me,” Rountree said. “I never take it for granted. You always hear about people having to take loans or paying back the money. I've never had a minute in my life where I had to figure out how I was going to pay off loans or where college expenses were coming from. That burden was never on my mind.”

As part of a lacrosse powerhouse, many wins stand out to Rountree as his favorite moments. But while the memories come and go in his mind, the thing that stays forever is the relationships that he made during his time in College Park. 

“In 1983, we beat North Carolina, who at that time was the two-time defending champion,” Rountree said. “We went on and beat Virginia in the playoffs to go to the final four. Those were a couple of good memories, but the biggest thing is the lifetime relationships and friends you make.”’ 

Rountree loved his time at Maryland so much that after he graduated, he decided to stay close to everyone who came and went through the program as helped establish the Maryland lacrosse network, a system designed to help Maryland lacrosse players stick together through thick and thin.

“They're in your life for life,” Rountree said of his past teammates. “You're not part of just a passing thing. It’s not something that ends after four years. These are relationships that you're you're making not only with the players but with the coaches too. A mentoring program was established, and I'm pretty good at making sure these guys have a career path or an idea of what they want to do.”

The network that Rountree helped establish has become greater and greater over the last few decades, and it’s a welcome sight for someone like Rountree. 

No matter what career path a player takes, or regardless of where they go in the world, they will always have their Maryland lacrosse brothers having their back.

“Someone may want to go into business, become a coach, or it could be anything but the lacrosse alumni network, I think any kid today would want to go into that. We can put him in touch with somebody, guide him in the right direction, or make contact with him. It even goes beyond careers. I'm at the point in life where I've got friends with health issues. If someone’s in the hospital, we’ll give them a call, and it goes a long way to hear from your teammates. It’s good to hear a voice from better times.” 

Recently, the Maryland men’s lacrosse team has returned to its place at the top of the lacrosse world. Tillman has gone a staggering 162-59 over his 14 seasons in College Park, with eight final four appearances and a national championship in 2017.

Rountree has grown close with Tillman and the current crop of players and loves everything he sees from the modern-day Terps.  

“[Coach Tillman] has equaled and surpassed any expectation,” Rountree said. “To go to as many final fours as he has in this amount of time, this will be the time that people will always look back on as long as the best time in Maryland lacrosse.”

Scholarships are viewed in high regard by Maryland student-athletes and alums, and while it may not always be explicitly stated, Rountree made it a point to thank those who paid for his scholarship.

“I have so much gratitude,” Rountree said of his appreciation towards the donors. “When you're in school, you probably don't think of where that money’s coming from. When you get a little further out in life, that’s when you realize it. There are people behind that who care enough about Maryland to want to give you that opportunity. In a lot of cases, it's people who have been in your shoes who want to give back. It makes me want to do the same. The opportunity to represent the state of Maryland and play for such a program meant a lot then and it continues to. It means something to still be associated with Maryland lacrosse and being a scholarship athlete.”

Rountree’s love of Maryland lacrosse stems from his childhood, growing up in the state of Maryland, and it blossomed into something great when he played at the state’s flagship school. 

To this day, Rountree believes it to be one of the best decisions he’s ever made due to the time he had, the memories he made, and the friendships and partnerships that he forged that are only growing stronger. 

“I feel like I owe nearly all of my business contacts and a lot of my social contacts to lacrosse,” Rountree said. “Lacrosse is the biggest network. If somebody knows you play lacrosse, the look on their face when you say you played at Maryland is incredible. It still means something to people, and I do not take it for granted that I got to play a Maryland. It's a big deal to me.”