ORONO – Since 1995 the University of Maine has been striving to achieve gender equity by creating a welcoming environment for all women athletes. So it is fitting that the final addition to its series of athletic complexes, a lighted softball diamond, will be made possible by a man who is a baseball junkie.

Mike Kessock, a 1966 graduate of UMaine and the managing director of an international food service company, has no interest in softball. Kessock played baseball for Hampden, went to school rooting for the Bears’ baseball team. His close friend, Joe Ferris, is a former UMaine pitcher from the school’s College World Series hey day in 1964.

But when Kessock decided to add to his previous gift that made possible the expansion of the training room, UMaine’s administrators and boosters – and Kessock’s good friend Ferris – spoke of one project that had to come before all others.

“His interest in softball is minimal, but this is the direction the university wanted to go in,” Ferris said at Tuesday’s press conference. “He stepped up to the plate and obviously hit a big home run.”

By giving for the softball teams’ future with his gift of $300,000 Kessock has ended an embarassing wait and begun a new era by moving the team from a high-school level field to a state-of-the-art stadium.

“You talk of home advantage and home field advantage. We look forward to going to other places,” UMaine coach Janet Anderson said. “[Kessock has] given us a home and a field of dreams. We appriciate it. Thank you so very, very much.”

The softball team has been on the verge of making the NCAA Tournament in the past few years after making it there in 1994. Anderson and assistant coach Deb Smith said the stadium will help.

“I can say that this would be the best field in the conference, even at the barest stages of planning,” Anderson said. “It will have a true dug out, it will be a true stadium.”

Anderson wasn’t exaggerating.

Tyler said the stadium will be similar to Mahaney Diamond. It will have bleachers seating at least 500, baseball-style dug outs, and a lighted field flanked by shrubs.

Tyler said roughly $400,000 still needs to be raised, but others have expressed a desire to contribute and the fund-raising drive for the diamond will move forward as it has for the multi-purpose stadium that is now being built.

After Harold Alfond donated $2.5 million and alumni Phillip and Susan Morse provided $1.5 million for that project last spring, the university needed approximately $1 million to raise on its own. However, Tyler said the two gifts were enough to allow UMaine to move ahead with a design and studies.

The university is in the same position with the softball diamond.

Tyler said if the planning, construction and weather all worked in UMaine’s favor, the new diamond could be completed by next season, although it is forecasted for the 2000 season.

As far as Anderson and the Bears are concerned, the wait is over.

“I’ve waited 16 years, seven months and seven days,” Anderson said. “It will be something we can be proud of. Delaware is very proud of its stadium, Hofstra is proud of its stadium. You can sense that. Maine will now be able to show teams you’re in Black Bear country.”

Kessock, who took the press conference stage with seeming reluctance, went into a litany of stories on Ferris’ career – none very flattering. But in a moment of seriousness, Kessock revealed the inspiration for his gift.

“Mike Kessock was my father,” he said. “I am Michael William Kessock. This one if for Dad.”

And, the UMaine women.

Anderson said that in her 20 years as the UMaine coach she has never brought a recruit to Lengyel Field. And, in recent years, the condition of the Bears’ field at the southern end of campus has deteriorated. Smith said money has not been put into the far-removed diamond because the university was waiting to build a new field.

“Most of the kids we recruit come from strong softball programs. They play softball in the summer and have nicer fields than us,” Smith said. “It’s a major plus. It will help in recruiting.”