Don’t let the Kansas University business card fool you.

David Guth, an associate professor of journalism at KU, showed up for work Monday sporting a red sweater, black pants, white shirt and yellow … well, let’s just say the University of Maryland alumnus isn’t shy about showing support for his Terrapins.

Forget crimson and blue. This turtle fan isn’t about to back into his shell, not with a berth in the national championship game at stake Saturday night during the Final Four in Atlanta.

“I have a whole different relationship with my colleagues now than I did last week,” Guth said Monday, a Maryland state flag hanging from the ceiling of his Dole Center office. “I have a long history of Terp blood running through my veins. I grew up in Maryland, and I started school there in 1970 Â we’re talking 40 years of Terpdom. Â

“KU and Maryland are two very good basketball teams, but  in my Terrapin bravado  I’ve just got to say we’re going to whip them.”

Guth, who once shot video for former Terrapin coach Lefty Driesell’s coach’s show, isn’t the only one in town with ties to the Terps.

David Gottlieb’s are marital.

Gottlieb, a KU law professor, is married to Rita Sloan, a music professor at Maryland. They both love college basketball, and they have no idea how they’re going to handle Saturday’s game.

“I’ve never been in this kind of situation before,” Sloan said. “I want them both to win, and they both can’t.”

Sloan moved from Lawrence to College Park, Md., three years ago when she was offered a position teaching piano. The couple have maintained a long-distance relationship during the academic years since then.

They’ll watch the game Saturday from Lawrence. Sloan is on spring break this week.

There’s no question where Gottlieb’s allegiances lie. He’s been pulling for KU since coming to campus in 1979, and the couple’s three children also are die-hard KU fans.

Sloan isn’t so sure who she’ll be rooting for. She said she’s a fan of both programs.

“I don’t know what will happen in the crunch,” she said. “I’ll probably cheer for everybody. I’ll be terribly sad for whichever one loses. Roy’s overdue, and Maryland’s due. It’s a win-win, lose-lose situation.”

Gottlieb admits to liking Maryland’s team, too  just not against the Jayhawks.

“I would root for Maryland against any other team in the country,” he said.

Jim Guthrie agrees.

A few months away from finishing his doctoral degree from Maryland in 1989, Guthrie accepted a job with the business school at KU. The Jayhawks were coming off a dream season that culminated with Danny Manning and Larry Brown leading the team to the NCAA championship.

“Before I even got out here, one of my future colleagues sent me a championship T-shirt,” Guthrie said. “I’ve been wanting to get one of my own, and this is a great opportunity. Â

“I came here as a Terrapin, but after 14 years I’ve definitely morphed into a Jayhawk.”

Back in Maryland, Susan Newton is doing her part to support the Jayhawks.

Newton, who received a business degree from KU in 1981, lived for 12 years in College Park, Md., always sticking to her crimson-and-blue roots in the Terrapin town. Today she’s president of Enterprise Housing Financial Services Inc. in Columbia, Md.

Already this week, the Jayhawks banner hanging outside her office has triggered “relentless ribbing” by coworkers, but Newton intends to get the last laugh Saturday night.

“I get ribbing all year long,” she said. “Every NCAA Tournament, I predict Kansas to go to the Final Four and to go all the way, and people always make fun of me.”

What better way to get even, she figures, than to beat the hometown team?

“I’d love to see our Jayhawks win,” she said. “It would be sweet justice.”

Staff writer Terry Rombeck contributed information for this report.