Maryland Sports Commission executive director Terry Hasseltine has left his position after more than 17 years leading the state’s efforts to attract major sporting events, according to three sources with knowledge of his departure.
The reason for his exit is unclear. Gov. Wes Moore’s press office referred an inquiry on Monday to the Maryland Stadium Authority, the commission’s parent organization. But two commission officials declined to comment, each telling The Baltimore Sun it is a “personnel matter.”
Hasseltine’s name has been removed from the websites of the stadium authority, where he was also a vice president, and the commission, which describes its mission as “leading the effort to develop and highlight Maryland as a destination for sports.”
Neither the sources nor the stadium authority would speculate on the reasons for Hasseltine’s departure. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because no public announcement has been made.
Hasseltine did not respond to text messages seeking comment on Monday.
Under Hasseltine, Maryland hosted the Army-Navy football game in a rotation with other states’ venues, retained the Preakness Stakes, hosted the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club, and secured the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) men’s and women’s basketball tournaments through 2029.
In 2017, Maryland was selected to host the Maryland 5 Star, an annual international event of horse jumping, cross-country and dressage, each October in Cecil County. There are only two such events in the United States.
Attendance has been flat for that event, however, and Hasseltine told PressBox, a Baltimore sports site, in mid-December that “we’re obviously still struggling with the time of year. We’re in a very competitive sports cycle at the time.”
A joint Baltimore/DC bid in 2022 didn’t win any 2026 FIFA World Cup matches. Under the combined bid, matches would have taken place in Baltimore, while Washington would have hosted a fan festival on the National Mall.
Hasseltine was a 38-year-old Kentucky sports marketing official when he was named in 2008 as the first director of a Maryland office tasked with attracting more professional and amateur athletic events to the state. In recent years, he also served as president and chairman of the Sports and Entertainment Corporation, a nonprofit organization designed to help the commission by fostering public-private partnerships.
Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com.
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