In another sign of how name, image and likeness payments have fundamentally changed college football, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley admitted this week that player payments became such a contentious issue on his team that it caused strife in the locker room.
“A year ago, Coach Locks lost his locker room,” Locksley said. “We had haves and have-nots for the first time. The landscape of college football taught me a valuable lesson. And that valuable lesson is it’s important for me, even in the midst of this change, to continue to educate our players on the importance of what playing for something bigger than yourself is all about. And I can tell you, if I have to put my desk in the locker room, I will.”
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Locksley said he was torn between paying younger players to attract new recruits, and paying older players to reward those who had been valuable contributors to the program for years. Maryland fell to 4-8 last year after winning bowl games each of the three previous seasons.
“Losing the locker room a year ago, for me, was really personal, because it’s bigger than football,” Locksley said. “Last year was tough on me as a coach because for the first time, those really strong relationships were questioned. Because I had to decide whether to pay a freshman coming in or take care of a veteran player who helped me go to three bowl games.”
Locksley said he now has a sign at the locker room entrance telling players to leave their finances out of the locker room. A sign of a major change in college football.
