The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Jude Killy is vice president and director of athletics at the University of Maine.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, the University of Maine had more alumni participating than almost any other college in the country.
Among the Black Bears in the games were gold medal-winning men’s ice hockey team goalie Jeremy Swayman and Team USA’s opening ceremonies flag bearer, Bethel bobsledder Frank Del Duca, who once captained our track and field team.
UMaine’s strong showing on the world’s premier sporting stage reflects our proud tradition of excellence — and the power of sustained support for Division I athletics.
Amid a rapidly changing collegiate sports landscape, there is a cost to remaining competitive and a strong point of pride for our state.
Under the terms of the landmark class-action settlement reached last June, NCAA Division I institutions can now spend up to $20.5 million this year on direct payments to their student-athletes, who can also more easily switch schools under expanded transfer rules.
Our public university — and Maine — cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.
After careful consideration, we recently signed direct pay agreements with some student-athletes to stabilize our rosters and keep top talent in Maine rather than being recruited away. This is in addition to supporting other NCAA-compliant ways for them to contract with third parties to benefit from their name, image and likeness.
We are also modernizing facilities in Orono to meet NCAA Division I standards and to elevate the experiences of our student-athletes, fans and community users. Last fall, we opened the New Balance Track & Field and Soccer Complex and renovated the Alfond Arena and Shawn Walsh Hockey Center, which the 2025 men’s Hockey East champions filled to the ringing rafters for every home game this season. Site work is now underway for the new 2,660-seat Morse Arena, where our men’s and women’s basketball teams will soon shoot for America East titles and NCAA tournament berths.
We are deeply sensitive to the budgetary challenges facing our public university and Maine families.
UMaine is not using any tuition dollars or state funding to make these important investments in our student-athletes and the facilities where they train, compete and win, even though we know they yield a tremendous return for the entire state.
Instead, we are inviting our incredible fans to support their favorite teams, pursuing new partnerships with brands that share our values and responsibly developing new revenue streams.
For the 2025-26 season, UMaine expanded concession options at football and hockey games, including beer and wine sales. This month, we are launching the Black Bear Student-Athlete Experience Fund to accept donations of any size to support scholarships, nutrition, travel costs and potentially, direct pay. Consistent with new NCAA rules, we will also add game uniform logo sponsorship opportunities starting as early as Aug. 1.
Through UMS TRANSFORMS, UMaine secured a $170 million investment in our athletic infrastructure from the Harold Alfond Foundation, and generous matching gifts from New Balance, Phil and the late Sue Morse, and hundreds of fans who believe in Maine’s flagship.
UMaine takes our unique responsibility as the state’s only NCAA Division I program seriously.
We provide pathways for homegrown talent to stay and succeed here, with more than 100 Mainers on our teams this year.
We inspire Maine youth and enable them to develop their own athletic abilities, leadership and teamwork skills, and integrity in our state-of-the-art facilities, clinics and camps.
We attract positive national media attention, new students and support for our public university.
And when sold-out games bring our fans to Orono, local restaurants, hotels and other small businesses benefit, as do the communities where our student-athletes regularly volunteer. In fact, a preliminary study shows that UMaine Athletics generates $77 million in annual statewide economic impact, with half of the 166,000 home-game attendees in 2024-25 visiting from beyond the greater Bangor region.
While more resources won’t guarantee wins, by innovating and investing in Black Bear athletics, we are keeping Maine in the game.