Maryland to expand commission investigating culture of football program

The University System of Maryland board of regents is expected to announce no later than Friday the names of "up to five additional members" of a commission previously formed to investigate the culture of Maryland's football program, according to a spokesman for the university system.

University of Maryland president Wallace D. Loh said on Aug. 14 he established a four-person commission -- with the fourth person to be named soon -- to look into allegations of a toxic culture within the football program that were revealed in a recent report by ESPN.

On Friday, the board of regents unanimously voted to assume authority and control over all aspects of two investigations into the June 13 death of Terrapins offensive lineman Jordan McNair. One investigation is led by Walters Inc., which was hired by Maryland to determine whether staff members followed proper protocol in the treatment of McNair on May 29 when he was hospitalized with heatstroke that eventually led to his death. The full report is expected by Sept. 15, and Loh said that would be made public.

The second investigation, initiated by Loh but now in the hands of the board, is so far made up of:

• Ben Legg, retired chief judge, U.S. District Court for Maryland;
• Alex Williams, retired judge, U.S. District Court for Maryland and former Prince George's County State's Attorney;
• Charlie Scheeler, senior counsel, DLA Piper. The former prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland also was the lead counsel for the investigation of steroids use in Major League Baseball as well as the monitor of Penn State's compliance under its Athletics Integrity Agreement with the NCAA and the Big Ten.

Loh said at his news conference last week that he has already contacted "a retired and respected football coach and athletic administrator from outside the university, to be named soon."

Mike Lurie, a spokesman for the university system, said no additional decisions have been made by the board, "and no further decisions or announcements are expected this week."