Exhibit 31 (a)

CERTIFICATION

Rule 13a-14(a) / 15d-14(a) Certifications

I, Daniel J. Schrider, Chief Executive Officer of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (“Bancorp”), certify that:

1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a     material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements     were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly     present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of,     and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls     and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d--15(e)) and internal control over financial     reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

     a)   Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such  disclosure controls and procedures to be            designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its            consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period            in which this report is being prepared;

b)  Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial            reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of            financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with            generally accepted accounting principles;

     c)   Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report            our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period            covered by this report based upon such evaluation; and

     d)   Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred            during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to                       materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal     control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of     directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

     a)   All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over            financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process,            summarize and report financial information; and

     b)   Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role            in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: March 3, 2017                                                                                               /s/Daniel J. Schrider

     Daniel J. Schrider

     Chief Executive Officer