Steve Abbott Named Interim UMaine Athletic Director
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571 or joe.carr@umit.maine.edu
ORONO — University of Maine President Robert Kennedy has selected Steve Abbott to serve as interim athletic director beginning Monday, Sept. 6.
An attorney who served as Sen. Susan Collins’ chief of staff for 12 years, Abbott grew up on and around the UMaine campus where his father, Walt Abbott, was a professor, head football coach and athletic administrator during a UMaine career that spanned more than 50 years. Steve Abbott was raised in Orono, graduating from Orono High School in 1981.
“Steve exemplifies the characteristics I was looking for in an interim athletic director,” Kennedy says. “He understands the nature of the University of Maine and its athletics department, having been so close to both for much of his life. He also brings integrity, intelligence and a real appreciation for the important role of an athletics operation within an academic community. I expect the university and Black Bear sports to benefit significantly from his leadership.”
Abbott was a legendary Orono High School athlete, starring on football teams that never lost a game during his four-year career. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Harvard where he earned a history degree and served as the football team’s 111th captain. A 1991 University of Maine Law School graduate, he practiced law at Pierce Atwood in Portland and studied sports management in the University of Massachusetts graduate program before becoming Collins’ chief of staff in 1997.
“I am delighted that President Kennedy has given me the opportunity to serve this institution — a place that has meant so much to me personally and that means so much to the entire state,” Abbott says. “Under his direction I intend to run an athletics program that will continue to reflect the values of the university, provide coaches with the support they need to win, and provide our students with an exceptional educational experience through sports.”
Blake James, UMaine’s current athletic director, will leave on Tuesday Sept. 7 to become senior associate athletic director for external relations at the University of Miami. Kennedy says he will appoint a committee to conduct a national search for James’ ongoing successor, beginning during the fall semester. Kennedy, who will step down as UMaine’s president on June 1, 2011, plans to leave the final decision on the outcome of that search to the person who succeeds him as president. A presidential search gets underway in September.
Abbott’s appointment is subject to formal approval by University of Maine System Chancellor Richard Pattenaude and the Board of Trustees.