COLLEGE PARK, MD - Fans can commemorate the past, celebrate the present and inspire the future of Maryland Athletics by simply checking out the M Club's brand-new digital Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame display.  

Located on the concourse in the XFINITY Center, the PanoScape state-of-the-art digital display brings Maryland Athletics' history to life. Fans can explore the legacies of Maryland's most celebrated athletes in an immersive, interactive experience before or after catching a game.  

The digital Hall of Fame couldn't have come at a better time. Eight members of the 2024 Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame class will be enshrined in the hall on Oct. 18 at the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center.  

The inductees include Lonny Baxter (men's basketball), Patty Corson Robbins (women's swimming), Jill Fisher-Galli (gymnastics), Patrick Mullins (men's soccer), Katie Schwarzmann (women's lacrosse), Alyssa Thomas (women's basketball), Autumn Welsh Kelly (field hockey) and Lee Zink (men's lacrosse). Each former student-athlete and the many members already part of the Hall of Fame will appear on the digital display for fans to see their accomplishments and contributions to Maryland Athletics. 

"By developing this Hall of Fame, you're not just able to see your loved one, family member or someone who contributed a lot to the Maryland Athletics program," Regis Whittington, President of the M Club Executive Board and former football student-athlete from 2011-13, said. "You're going to be able to interact with it and look at pictures, videos and stories."  
 
The digital board was implemented to give fans a more interactive experience when learning about the student-athletes who helped build Maryland Athletics' foundation. Another reason was that the wall where the Hall of Fame plaques were previously placed no longer has room for additional plaques, signifying the extent of Maryland's Hall of Fame presence.  

The M Club searched for ways to make learning about Maryland Athletics's Hall of Famers a more interactive experience. Laura Chiriaco, the Executive Director of the M Club and Director of Alumni Engagement, worked with the athletic department to execute the digital hall, as they already had plans to modernize and renovate signs around the stadium. 

"This digital Hall of Fame display signifies the M Club's commitment to honoring our history and preserving our traditions for future generations of Terps," Chiriaco said. "We're proud to unveil this beautiful new display, and we can't wait for our Maryland Athletics community to experience our awe-inspiring Hall of Fame athletes in a new way."

The M Club made another significant investment in the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame earlier this year when it established the M Club Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Banquet Endowed Operating Fund for Intercollegiate Athletics. This fund provides operating support for the Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Banquet, ensuring many more classes of Hall of Fame inductees will have the first-class celebration they deserve. If you'd like to support this fund to protect the legacy of the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame, please visit giving.umd.edu.

The board's location was also an area of emphasis. It's located near where the new Maryland Club will be housed. Fans entering the XFINITY Center will pass the men's and women's national championship trophies before being greeted by the digital screen. Whether fans head to their seats or get snacks or food when they walk past, they will see the interactive screen."

"We want to make sure people recognize not just the athletes that are currently here but the ones in the past that helped build the foundation," Whittington said. "With a static picture, that's possible, but you have to look for it. We don't want you to look for it. We don't even want it to be a question of who are the people that are the foundation of University of Maryland athletics."  

The M Club's goals are to help achieve the very best overall academic and athletic program for all the varsity teams, to aid the athletes in making positive contributions to the community, to obtain and maintain funds for awards and scholarships and to cultivate networking, social contact and good sportsmanship among the wearers of the "M."

The 2024 Hall of Fame Induction Banquet on Oct. 18 will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m., with a dinner following at 6:30 p.m. However, the immersive M Club digital display takes this bi-annual event and lets Maryland fans learn more about the inductees and their peers in the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame every day of the year.  

"We're just athletes helping athletes," Marshall Fesche, Treasurer of the M Club Executive Board and former men's lacrosse student-athlete from 1964-66, explained. "It's a matter of giving back. We wanted people to know the history, and we recently celebrated our 100th anniversary, so we wanted to get information out about the history of the M Club, how it started and what it's done through the years."