Athletics
A premiere destination for Maine
Topflight facilities to support competitive excellence and gender equity at Maine’s only Division I athletic program
The University of Maine has unveiled its transformative $110 million athletic facilities master plan. The initiative, funded with a commitment of $90 million from the Harold Alfond Foundation, honors Harold Alfond’s legacy of support for Maine education and athletics. It will deliver facility improvements benefitting all 17 varsity programs at Maine’s only Division I athletic program.
The vision of the athletics facilities master plan includes improving the overall UMaine student experience. It also stretches far beyond the campus community as these state-of-the-art facilities will be tailored to host a variety of youth, high school, and community events. The athletics footprint will be equipped to host high school championships, youth club sports, and other regional events as UMaine strives to be a premier destination in Maine for youth activities and statewide gatherings.
UMaine Director of Athletics Ken Ralph (lead) and UMaine Professor Judith Rosenbaum-Andre (co-lead) oversee the UMS TRANSFORMS athletics planning initiative. The initiative leaders will be working with campus committees and convening statewide discussions on how the new athletic facilities at UMaine can be used to support other UMS universities, high school athletics, persons with disabilities, athletes of all ages, and other communities that may want utilize these new facilities.
Details, renderings, and videos honoring Harold Alfond’s legacy and providing an overview of the $110 million plan are available at goblackbears.com. The website also includes opportunities for Black Bear Nation to contribute to the campaign to raise the initial $20 million match by joining the Alfond Fund administered by the University of Maine Foundation.
UMaine Athletics expects to begin moving on the plan, starting with small upgrades in summer 2021 before beginning construction on the new fields in summer 2022.
“We are going to build outstanding athletic facilities to support our Black Bear athletes and students and youth from all over the state. Wins for our athletic program and all the work we do to advance the initiatives supported by the Harold Alfond Foundation will include inclusion and community building. We are Maine’s public universities and everyone will be welcome to engage in our programs, use our facilities, and contribute to our success.” Joan Ferrini-Mundy, President, University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias