In 1935, The Diamondback sharply criticized then-University President Raymond A. Pearson, saying in an editorial that faculty morale was deteriorating following salary cuts and the departure of highly regarded professors had resulted in lowered academic standing.

Pearson defended the salary cuts as due to reduced state funding attributable to the Depression and denied that scholastic excellence had been impaired.

[8] In 1972, the Board of Regents granted Maryland Media Inc. a non-profit charter and free office space on campus, under which the Diamondback operates independently.

[9] In 2001, a controversy erupted between The Diamondback and the university's journalism school when the Diamondback's student staff objected to the Dean of Journalism's proposal that publisher Maryland Media hire a paid editorial advisor for the newsroom, accusing the Dean of a "takeover" that would jeopardize the newspaper's independence.

[10] The month before, the Baltimore Sun reported that Maryland Media had a $4 million surplus, with the Diamondback's non-student manager paid $179,123 and potentially earning as much as $300,000 per year, further exacerbating relations.

In 1949, it was named the "Best College Newspaper" among schools having more than 6,000 students by Pi Delta Epsilon, the national honorary journalism fraternity (later the Society for Collegiate Journalists).

[12] For the 2012–2013, 2015 and 2016 school years, The Diamondback was named the "Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper" in Region 2 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

[14][15] For the 2008–2009 school year, The Diamondback placed second in the national Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards ranking of daily student newspapers.