COLLEGE PARK, MD — On Thursday, June 15, the University of Maryland's M Club will celebrate its 100th anniversary, commemorating the century of the organization's commitment to serving the university and its student-athletes of the past, present and future. Since its establishment in 1923, the organization has become a role model for other letterwinner clubs nationwide while providing countless opportunities for the thousands of student-athletes who have been a part of the Terrapin family.

"It's very special and there's not very many other letterwinner organizations that have hit this milestone," Laura Chiriaco, the Executive Director of the M Club and Director of Alumni Engagement, said. "It's our former athletes that have kept this organization going, and this organization is entirely run by former athletes and throughout the years. They are the ones that have kept it going sometimes in between Executive Director changes or volunteers and former athletes have stepped up to continue the organization. I think it just shows the commitment that our alumni athletes from Maryland have to keeping these traditions going and to paying it forward to support that next generation of athletes."

To celebrate its 100-Year Anniversary, the M Club will hold its annual meeting where all members are invited to hear the State of the M Club and meet the board members. In the fall, the organization will host a celebration including a golf outing on October 13, followed by a tailgate before Maryland's homecoming game on Saturday, October 14, against Illinois.

Throughout its history, the M Club has fostered new traditions and has implemented new programs to create an exceptional student-athlete experience at Maryland. By the end of its first year in 1923, the M Club established Homecoming, and in 1930, it created the University's first athletic scholarship program. 

Other initiatives that the M Club has helped in the past include the foundation of the Terrapin Club, the institution of both the State of Maryland and the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame, the organization of capital campaigns to maintain and modernize athletic facilities across campus and the creation of the Len Rodman Celebrity Golf Tournament, which has raised over $800,000 for athletic scholarships.

In recent years, the M Club has built new traditions for student-athletes to celebrate their time in College Park. The letter jacket ceremony was formed to welcome incoming student-athletes into the Maryland Athletics family. For graduation ceremonies, the M Club offers graduation stoles for the student-athletes. 

Chiriaco explained that these new traditions for student-athletes joining the Terrapin family and leaving for new opportunities shows that there is a strong bond and that all of the student-athletes are connected through their shared experiences.

"It's just such a strong symbol of the M Club to be an alumni and see that jacket, and it just brings back so many memories from your time on campus as a student athlete," Chiriaco said. "And I love seeing the sashes when they wear them at graduation and it identifies them as student-athletes. They can look around and see all of the other student-athletes that are graduating and that we've got the M Club and the athletics logo on the sash showing our strong partnership, so I'm really proud of that initiative as well."

After graduation, the M Club offers opportunities for student-athletes to make a strong transition into their next phase of life. Through business networking opportunities and peer mentoring with former Maryland student-athletes, current student-athletes have the ability to connect with alumni who were once in their shoes on the hunt for their first job. As for former-student athletes looking to continue their postgraduate education, the M Club awards Rodman Postgraduate Scholarships.

As the M Club continues beyond its 100-Year Anniversary, Chiriaco said that the organization is striving to continue supporting student-athletes through their time in college and helping them thrive beyond graduation.

"I think you're going to see a lot more reunion events from the M Club where we're bringing together specific teams and celebrating milestones," Chiriaco said. "We're also going to be looking to increase the impact that we can make on our student athletes in our department through some of our financial contributions. I think we're also going to be focused on some innovative fundraising efforts to make sure that we can continue to support our athletes for the next 100 years."