Maine philanthropist Alfond gains award as Donor of Year

Harold Alfond, whose generosity enabled the University of Maine to construct the Harold Alfond Sports Stadium and Alfond Arena, has been recognized for his philanthropy.

Alfond has been selected Donor of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors. The award will be presented June 11 at the NAADD’s annual meeting held in Orlando, Fla.

UMaine Director of Athletics Suzanne Tyler and Eric Soncrant, the school’s assistant AD for development, nominated Alfond for the honor. The organization’s officers and executive committee made the selection.

“This is gratifying for our department and the University of Maine,” Tyler said. “Mr. Alfond is the prototypical philanthropist. He has certainly been recognized many times for his efforts and we’re proud to help add to his many accolades.

Alfond contributed $3.1 million to build UMaine’s new football/field hockey stadium, which seats 10,000 people and was the site of the university’s 2000 commencement.

Alfond, the retired head of the Dexter Shoe Co., has shared his wealth generously with UMaine and other non-profit causes. Among his numerous gifts were: $1.7 million for a new gym and recreation center at St. Joseph’s College in Standish; $3 million for the Harold Alfond Athletic Center at Colby College in Waterville; and $5 million for the Goodwill-Hinckley Homes for Boys and Girls.

HOckey program adds workout

Making it to the NCAA Tournament “Frozen Four” may be a noteworthy accomplishment for most programs, but not for the UMaine Black Bears.

After winning national championships in 1993 and 1999, losing to eventual national champion North Dakota 2-0 in the Frozen Four semifinals last month didn’t sit well.

So Maine strength and conditioning coach Jim St. Pierre and assistant hockey coach Gene Reilly put the Bears through five training sessions a week instead of the usual three over a span of 3 1/2 weeks this spring.

Maine head coach Shawn Walsh said the workouts were “more intense and involved more volume.

“The biggest message was the importance of having our returnees come back to training camp in the fall in better shape than they were last year,” said Walsh, who begins his 17th year in the fall. “Last fall, some of our key individuals weren’t as sleek as I would have liked. I don’t know if it was because we had won the national title the previous year or what it was. There are certain guys you never have to worry about but we have some key individuals who need to be motivated.”

Walsh wouldn’t name the individuals in need of motivation but said, “These guys could have big-time years if they pay the price this summer. We wanted them to get used to training five to six days a week because, at this level, it’s necessary in the off-season.”

He said next year’s team will be one of the youngest he has had in several years and he admitted that he doesn’t expect sophomore winger Barrett Heisten to return. Heisten, Maine’s second leading scorer with 37 points in 37 games, was a first-round draft choice of Buffalo a year ago and Walsh anticipates him signing with the Sabres.

McGeoghan wins academic honor

Phil McGeoghan, a two-sport standout at the University of Maine, is one of 11 student-athletes selected for the GTE Academic All-District I Men’s Spring At-Large Team.

McGeoghan, a 6-foot-4 leaper from Feeding Hills, Mass., earned a spot on the University Division First Team after posting a 3.38 grade point average. The marketing major holds the UMaine and America East outdoor record in the high jump at 7 feet, 1/4-inch.

He also competes in the long jump, triple jump and discus for coach Jim Ballinger’s Bears during the winter and spring seasons. McGeoghan also is the top returning wide receiver for the UMaine football team.

Winkin working regional at LSU

John Winkin has seen it all during his more than half-century of coaching baseball. His vast experience will be called upon again this week.

Winkin, a fellow in sports leadership and an assistant baseball coach at Husson College in Bangor, is serving as the tournament director for the NCAA Division I Regional baseball tournament at Baton Rouge, La.

The 81-year-old Winkin arrived Wednesday to assume his familiar position. Winkin coached 13 University of Maine teams into regional play and the Black Bears played host to six of those events.

In the years when UMaine didn’t reach a regional, Winkin was shipped off to another location to serve as a tournament director. He has continued in that role in recent years.

“What it amounts to is most of them know I’ve been there,” Winkin said. “I really enjoy getting into the heat of it all. The fun of it is getting back and seeing people.”

The atmosphere should be lively at LSU, which holds almost 7,000 people and is already sold out.

The LSU tournament is one of 16 four-team regionals. The winners advance to eight, two-team Super Regionals, which produce the eight teams for the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.