Webber Energy Fuels of Bangor and Exxon Company USA have signed on as sponsors of the 1996 North Atlantic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, which begins Feb. 28 on the home courts of the higher-seeded teams.

This is the first time a corporation has sponsored the NAC championship. Webber will contribute in excess of $10,000, which will be used to defray tournament expenses, including travel, meals and lodging for the 10 teams involved in NAC postseason play.

NAC Assistant Commissioner Julie Power said a survey done by the conference found that only four other women’s league championship tournaments had title sponsorship. State Farm insurance is the lone sponsor for the Missouri Valley women’s tourney, while Dr. Pepper underwrites the Southwest Conference men’s and women’s events.

The Metro Atlantic and Colonial conferences each have joint sponsors, one for men and one for women.

Power said the arrangement will help the NAC deal with the high cost of running a tournament at four sites spread throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. It also should open the door to increased sponsorship of future league events.

“We’re one of the few leagues in the country that reimburses every member of the travel party for lodging, per diem for food, and transportation,” Power said. “This gives us a little bit of breathing room.”

The deal was set up through former University of Maine associate athletics director Mike Palisi, who now runs Athletic Advantage, a New Jersey consulting firm.

Power explained that the NAC did earn a small profit from last year’s women’s tournament, primarily because of the good crowds at the three UMaine home games. However, the NAC must also pay for game management at each of the home tourney sites and winds up paying high rates for air fare because the team flights cannot be set up until each round has been completed.

In exchange for their financial support, Webber and Exxon will receive signage at the NAC sites and logos on the playing surfaces. The sponors also will provide gifts for the coaching staffs and T-shirts for the players.

Cindy Blodgett and the University of Maine women’s basketball team will get another dose of national publicity on Sunday, Feb. 25, when Blodgett is featured on CBS This Morning.

Maine humorist Tim Sample will profile Blodgett during his “Postcards from Maine” segment. A CBS crew was in Orono last Thursday and Friday to film and interview Blodgett, who is the leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball this season.

Husson College senior guard Bryan Jefferson calls it “the show before the show [Maine Athletic Conference Tournament].”

Archrivals Husson and St. Joseph’s College will square off in men’s and women’s basketball at the Newman Gym in Bangor on Wednesday evening.

The Husson women, 17-7 overall and 9-1 in the MAC, can clinch the MAC regular season title and earn a first-round bye with a victory according to coach Kissy Walker. St. Joseph’s is 12-11, 3-4 in the MAC. Game time is 5:30. The men’s game is at 7:30 p.m.

The Husson men are 15-12 and 9-2 while St. Joseph’s is 21-2 and 7-0 in the conference. The Monks are ranked sixth in the country in NAIA Division II.

The smaller Monks will press full-court while Husson will have to beat the press and set up its halfcourt offense.

Senior center Tara Leavitt will return to the lineup for the first time in five weeks for the Braves. She has had a sprained ankle.