Damon Evans announces departure for SMU, announces Maryland's choice for interim AD

The news everyone knew was coming became official on Friday night, when Maryland athletic director Damon Evans announced his departure for the same job at SMU. Evans also announced that school president Darryll Pines has chosen associate AD Colleen Sorem as interim AD.

"Just a short while ago, the official announcement was made that I have accepted the role of athletic director at Southern Methodist University. While I relish the opportunity ahead, this decision was among the most difficult in my professional career," he wrote. Maryland will forever remain a treasured part of my professional and personal life. Although I will soon wear different school colors, a big part of me will always be a Terp."

Evans, who's been at Maryland since 2014, said Sorem, his longtime lieutenant, will fill the role until Pines makes a a full-time hire.

"I could not be more proud that President Pines has named Colleen Sorem as the interim athletic director. For years, she has been my trusted deputy, and a close friend. Simply put, she is one of the most skilled athletic administrators in the nation. Maryland is fortunate to have such a tremendous individual to continue our great work. Our department is in great hands," he wrote.

RELATED: Who could Maryland's nest full-time AD be?

Evans' impending departure began to leak earlier this week. Yesterday, in an unusual NCAA Tournament press conference, Willard aired the dirty laundry from his relationship with his boss during a two-minute answer, complaining the Evans refused to pay for his team to stay in New York for Christmas, claiming Maryland "has the lowest NIL" and announcing to a stunned audience that Evans was leaving for SMU.

Evans was hired by then-Maryland AD Kevin Anderson in 2014 as Senior Associate AD, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer, where he played a critical role in restructuring the department's finances and operations following the school's transition to the Big Ten Conference. He was appointed Interim Athletic Director in October 2017 and officially named AD in June 2018.

During Evans tenure won 49 Big Ten Championships and Tournament titles, the third-most of any conference institution during that span. But the men's basketball program struggled to return to national relevancy during that time period, until this year, and Evans had a clumsy time unentangling the program from coach Mark Turgeon. The football program showed improvement under his hire, Mike Locksley, who led the team to bowl games three years in a row for the first time, but went 4-8 last season.

More of Evans' comments below:

"I am fiercely proud of what we have accomplished in my 10 years here, particularly the last seven as the Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics. With your generous support and the support of an amazing athletic department staff, we have won 49 B1G conference championships and seven national championships. We have built amazing facilities for our student-athletes, including Jones-Hill House, performance centers for baseball and softball and a new track at Ludwig Field. We installed state-of-the-art videoboards at SECU Stadium and Xfinity Center, opened the stunning Maryland Club and this summer we will open a gleaming new home for Maryland Basketball, the Barry Gossett Basketball Performance Center."

"Beyond these accomplishments, I am even more proud of the relationships I have built with many of you. The hardest part of my departure is saying goodbye to so many amazing Terps, alumni, fans and friends. On behalf of my wife Kerry and my entire family, I want to thank you for your support and your friendship."

"I'd also like to thank President Pines for his incredible support of me and our athletic department. His leadership has helped transform our department in so many ways and it has been an honor to work alongside him on the critical issues and challenges currently transforming collegiate athletics."

Before you go ...

-- IMS subscribers had the scoop every step of the way. Join now and save 50%!

-- Get the latest Terps news delivered to your inbox FREE! Sign up for our email newsletter here and stay informed on Maryland basketball, football, recruiting and every other Terps storyline.

-- Support Maryland basketball's recruiting and player-retention efforts by joining TurtleNIL!

-- Follow IMS on Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and Instagram.

-- Don't miss any of our new video Terps content: Subscribe to InsideMDSports on YouTube and hit the notification bell so you know when new videos drop.

- Need a go-to Terps podcast? Listen to IMS Radio here, watch earlier episodes here and don't forget to subscribe to IMS Radio on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon Music | TuneIn | Apple Podcasts

Click here to read article