Impact Of A Scholarship: Andy Magee

As a former tennis standout with two degrees from the university, Andy Magee feels forever indebted to the University of Maryland and forever grateful to be a Terp. 

And years after his first graduation, Magee remains heavily involved with the university today, both as an avid fan and as a Terrapin Club member and donor. 

“I’m a diehard,” Magee said. “I’m all-in on every single sport. “If our athletic department sponsored a chess team, I would find a way to support the Terps. I root for every team we have, regardless of the sport, and love nothing more than hosting our Magee tailgate in Lot 1 during football season.”

Growing up in Rollings Hills, California, playing sports was a way of life for Magee. He played basically anything he could, with a particular fondness for football, tennis and baseball.

While at Chadwick High School, Magee starred in those three sports and got recruited collegiately in each one of them. An all-state quarterback who held the state touchdown record at the time, Magee opted to choose the football route, and stopped playing tennis at age 15.

Magee stayed close to home and committed to UCLA where he played football for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. However, after that, he decided it was time for a change and started to look for other colleges. 

Despite it being all the way across the country, Maryland stuck out immediately to Magee, who admired the school’s unique blend of elite academics and athletics. 

“It’s a bit of a rare combination to have an elite academic institution with an elite athletic department, but Maryland has it and that is a large reason that I am so prideful to be a Terp,” Magee said.

Magee made the move to College Park, but a non-academic eligibility issue with the NCAA didn’t allow him to play football for the Terps. Fortunately for Magee, he had other sports in his back pocket and he enthusiastically picked up tennis again. 

“It was awesome first and foremost,” Magee said of resuming his tennis play. “I had always wanted to play multiple sports in college so it was a dream come true. I wouldn’t trade my college experience, and especially my student-athlete experience at Maryland, for anything.”

Of course, there were some growing pains that came with returning to a sport after a nearly five-year break, but Magee was able to quickly shake those off. He led the Terps in doubles wins during his time at Maryland, including a 14-7 dual-match record for the 2012 spring season. Additionally, Magee was a member of the first University of Maryland tennis team to make the NCAA Tournament, defeating Michigan in the first round.

Magee didn’t just excel on the tennis courts, however. He also took advantage of all the academics and social opportunities he could, loving the high-quality people he was surrounded by on Maryland’s campus. 

“The biggest thing I took from Maryland was how to compete; compete in the classroom, compete on the court, and how to compete to attain my ideal post-athletic career.—I learned how to compete in all of it. You’re surrounded by greatness at Maryland and that’s what I was attracted to.”

Magee also made sure to not just confine himself to the tennis bubble, instead forming lifelong friendships with student-athletes from all different teams. In fact, he roomed with wrestlers for many years and the future best man at his wedding was a baseball player.

“I think that’s something unique about our athletic department is the cross-sport relationships. The best friends I have to this day were from all across the athletic department.”

Another big point of attraction back when Magee was making his college decision was that Maryland put him on a full athletic scholarship—a bit of a rarity in a sport like men’s tennis. 

“Being able to attain a full scholarship, and having no financial burden, played a large role in my decision to attend Maryland and is part of why I feel so indebted to the university and the athletic department.”

With his father having passed away when he was just 14, Magee knew that the single-parent income in his household was not going to be nearly enough to put him through college. Without a scholarship, it would be extremely difficult for Magee to play college sports due to the financial load he would have to shoulder. 

“I needed a scholarship to go to college,” Magee said. “It would have been a humongous financial burden without it; I’m sure I would have had to work multiple jobs. I was able to focus solely on my academics and athletics, due to my athletic scholarship; this was a true blessing and provided me with a second-to-none experience.”

After graduating from the University of Maryland with his Bachelor’s degree in English, Magee moved onto a professional career within the college athletics world—first as an assistant tennis coach, then as an assistant football coach, and finally a football administrator. 

By 2020, however, Magee was ready for a career switch, though he wanted to keep the same highly-competitive, team-oriented atmosphere that he loved about college sports. Once again, he turned to the University of Maryland, this time enrolling in the school’s Master of Business Administration program. 

After earning his Master’s, a fellow double-Terp hired Magee at Republic Services, a Fortune 300 environmental solutions company, with core competencies in refuse services and renewable energy initiatives.. Magee started in their leadership development program, The General Manager Accelerated Program, that, once he completed, put him in a position to be a general manager and to run one of the company’s business units, made up of about 150 diverse employees who function as a team towards one common goal of partnering with customers to create a more sustainable world while maximizing profit for shareholders.

For Magee, who grew up with similar blue collar, roll-up your sleeves work thanks to his family’s plumbing company, the job is a dream come true.

“My athletic career, which focused on leading a team towards victory is very similar to the culture at Republic Services; we operate in a people-first, team environment, with a focus on winning. I feel very lucky to work alongside the hardest working men and women in America at my dream organization.”

Notably, the job has also put him in a financial position where he is able to give back to things that mean the most to him—and the University of Maryland is near the top of that list.

Already a member of the Terrapin Club’s Victory Circle, Magee took his generosity even further recently, making a five-year pledge to Maryland athletics to start an endowment fund. 

“Giving back to Maryland, aiding future Terrapins, and ensuring our athletic department has the necessary resources to be a national power is important to me.

Magee hasn’t chosen the specific area the endowment will go towards yet, but is hoping to set it up in a way that pairs athletics with academics—in the same way he did while in College Park. 

For Magee, there are few honors greater than giving back to his alma mater.

“I think as alumni we have a duty to give back to the school that gave to us. Without Maryland, especially my Maryland MBA from the Smith School of Business, I would not be in a position to give at this level. I may not be from Maryland, but the University of Maryland is where I grew up; it is only right that I give back to the school that made me the man I am.”