The University of Maine women’s club hockey team climbed another step closer to varsity status Thursday even though its funding status is uncertain.

Dr. John McDonough, chairman of Maine’s Athletic Advisory Board, said the board has recommended to President Fred Hutchinson that women’s ice hockey receive varsity status next season.

Hutchinson would have to approve it and then it would have to be approved by the University of Maine System Board of Trustees to become a reality.

“People on the board felt women’s hockey had come far enough in terms of participation and competency to go to the next level,” McDonough explained.

The vote to recommend varsity status was 9-2 with two abstentions, according to McDonough.

He said the board’s primary concern was finances.

McDonough said the proposal calls for the full allotment of 18 scholarships in five years at which point the program would cost the university $462,000 per year to operate.

Where would the money come from?

“I have no clue,” said McDonough. “But a $6 million endowment would fund the program forever.”

He said the price tag for the program would increase to $180,000 for next season. That includes the coach’s salary, travel, and equipment.

They would begin allocating scholarships for 1998-99.

“We would give out four scholarships the first year, add five more the next year, four more the third year, and five the fourth year [to get to 18],” said McDonough.

UMaine would remain in the ECAC Alliance Division for next season, but athletic director Sue Tyler said since it is a non-scholarship league, Maine couldn’t stay in it beyond next season.

The ECAC Alliance is comprised of Maine, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Williams, Amherst College, Middlebury, RIT, Hamilton, RPI, Colgate and Vermont.

ECAC Division I consists of Northeastern, Providence, Boston College, Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Princeton, New Hampshire, Colby, St. Lawrence, and Harvard.

Some of the schools in ECAC Division I have scholarships and others don’t.

Tyler said there has been talk about reorganizing the women’s hockey leagues, so Maine will wait to see what happens before choosing a path.

McDonough said the women would use the visiting team’s locker room next year, but, to comply with Title IX, the university would eventually have to build them their own locker room that would be comparable to the men’s hockey locker room.

He said the new locker room would cost in excess of $200,000.

Stacey Livingston, head coach of the women’s team this past season and a former player and assistant coach at Maine, said she was “very excited” about the development.

“Women’s hockey is booming and it will be even bigger after the Olympics [in 1998 when it will be a medal sport for the first time],” said Livingston, who led the Bears to a women’s-best 11-4-2 record and a berth in the ECAC Alliance tournament. “This will provide the opportunity for women’s hockey in the state of Maine and at the University of Maine to grow immensely.

“When I started here as a freshman [six years ago], I was one of only four girls who could skate and put my equipment on. The last two years, there has been a total turnaround in dedication and commitment on the girls’ part.”

Livingston, who intends to apply for the head coaching job, said she expects Maine’s program to become a powerhouse in Division I in “three to four years.”

Tyler said, “It’s an exciting opportunity for women’s hockey. It’s a group of kids who have worked real hard to get where they’re going.”

She said giving the women varsity status next year will help them with their scheduling for 1998-99 since some schools are reluctant to schedule club teams.

She added that it’s important for the program to get into a conference “because we aren’t in the middle of traffic and we aren’t high on everybody’s list of places to go.”