So says a statistical analyst who examined ACC and Big Ten members' performance in the Directors' Cup from 2000-01 through last year. The Terrapins finished ahead of six Big Ten members, and trailed the other six. (Nebraska is counted as a Big Ten member even though in all but one of those seasons, it competed in the Big 12.) Note this refers to Maryland's overall program, not any individual sport.

http://www.information-management.com/blogs/maryland-the-big-10-and-performance-data-10023721-1.html

Too bad Rutgers wasn't included in this, though according to this cumulative Directors' Cup graphic (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aoe3vYa_mD5UdGRibmp5U21kVVFCZzBXcHRSU0JIdVE#gid=0), the Scarlet Knights rank below all Big Ten members. They'll have a lot to work on in New Brunswick, but that doesn't mean it can't be done; Virginia Tech had some dismal programs when it entered the ACC in 2004, and in recent years many of them have become competitive within the conference.