The investigation into Maryland football and DJ Durkin is done, but results aren’t coming right away

The investigation into Maryland football and head coach DJ Durkin has finally finished after over two months, the University System Board of Regents announced Wednesday.

The Board will be briefed on findings from the investigation Friday at its regularly scheduled meeting, then meet in closed session Tuesday, Oct. 23 to discuss those results. This information will then be released to the public “within one week” of that meeting.

So the investigation’s findings won’t be made public until sometime between Oct. 23 and Oct. 30.

“We have said from the beginning that, if true, the allegations related to the culture of the football program at the University of Maryland, College Park are unacceptable,” said Board of Regents Chair James Brady in a statement. “We have also said we are determined to get all the facts possible before acting.

“While the final stage of that process begins on October 19th, members of the board will need appropriate time to study the findings, ask follow-up questions, come to conclusions, and consider any potential outcomes,” Brady added. “As public servants, we have an obligation to take the time necessary to get this right. Once the board has had the time it needs to review the findings, the information will be shared with people of Maryland in a fully transparent fashion.”

Brady said on Sept. 21 that the results would be due back “very soon.”

This investigation has taken plenty of time, and it’s reasonable to ask why.

When Maryland president Wallace Loh announced a commission to investigate the culture of the football program, his intention was to complete the investigation as quickly as possible. The Board of Regents took control of both probes into the program later that week—the other, conducted by Dr. Rod Walters and focusing on the circumstances surrounding Jordan McNair’s death, concluded in September.

Here’s one answer to why it’s taken so long to get to this point, from The Washington Post’s Rick Maese:

People familiar with the commission’s investigation say there are several reasons it has lasted this long. Among them: the scope of the review was vast and somewhat nebulous; commission members tried to reach as many of the Maryland players who competed under Durkin as possible, a timely undertaking; and as investigators have discovered new information, they have had to re-interview some people they met with early in the process.

Once the Board receives the results of the investigation, it’ll have some big decisions to make.

Will Maryland cut ties with Durkin or reinstate him? If the school fires him, will it be for cause? And what about Loh or athletic director Damon Evans? Or other football or medical staff members? We’ve been waiting for over two months, and it’s past time for some answers.