Jared Backus was hired as an assistant football coach at the University of Maine during the same month he was married to his wife Amanda back in 1998.

Ever since, they have pursued their own careers while living hundreds of miles apart.

Jared and Amanda Backus are finally living together full time after he was hired recently as an assistant football coach at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.

“I hate to lose him, but I almost told him he had to take it,” said UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove. “It has a good ending to it. He’s still doing what he does best, which is coach football, and he’ll be doing it out of the same house with his wife.”

They may even be able to get together regularly for lunch. Amanda Backus, who previously was at Quinnipiac (Conn.), is the associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator at Bucknell.

Backus has been a key member of the UMaine staff, handling the Black Bears’ defensive line and special teams the last three seasons. He’ll have a similar post with the Bison.

“He did a great job while he was here with us,” Cosgrove said. “He was a high-energy guy in everything that he did. That’s how he lives his life. He’s a man of great integrity.”

During his stint at UMaine, Backus helped produce some of the Atlantic 10’s sack leaders, including Jojo Oliphant, Damon Boinske, Stephen Cooper and Marcus Walton.

“He’s a great person to be around, a great recruiter and a great representative of the program,” Cosgrove said. “His level of energy, that’s tough to match.”

Backus is a 1993 graduate of Springfield College, where he was a two-year letterman at inside linebacker. He also earned a master’s degree at Springfield.

Prior to UMaine, Backus had served as an assistant coach at Rutgers, Springfield, Pace and Lebanon Valley College.

Scholar-athletes announced

The University of Maine and America East have announced a myriad of student-athlete award winners, proving the competitors’ commitment in the classroom as well as in the athletic arena.

On Saturday, Feb. 9, the UMaine Athletic Advisory Board presents the 13th annual Scholar-Athlete Recognition Awards as part of the Black Bear women’s basketball game against Stony Brook.

The largest group of UMaine athletes to date, 137, will be honored. These student-athletes must have earned a 3.0 or better grade point average for the previous two semesters or must have maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA.

A pregame reception is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Wells Commons and the recipients will be recognized during halftime of the 1 p.m. game.

UMaine also will announce the winners of the Dean Smith Awards, presented annually to the top male and female scholar-athletes at the university.

The 2001 Team Scholastic Awards for the highest UMaine team GPAs will be presented to coach Scott Atherley’s women’s soccer team and the men’s cross country squad coached by Mark Lech.

America East has released its 2001 America East Fall Academic Honor Roll, which includes 622 student-athletes who posted a grade point average of 3.0 or higher during the first semester.

UMaine placed 60 student-athletes on the list, second most among the 13 institutions that were members of the conference during the fall season. Only New Hampshire had more honorees (74).

In addition, 269 of the 622 student-athletes were recognized as members of the Commissioner’s Honor Roll after achieving GPAs of 3.5 or higher last fall. UMaine boasts 24 such recipients.

They are: Andrew Goupee, Justin Maloney, Vanessa Allen, Jessica Barbay, Margaret Brunton, Heather Corson, Kelly Crowell, Suzanne Hussey, Nicole Pelletier, Jessica Sheldon and Joy Simpson, cross country; Morgan Brady, Kristy Ferran, Jocelyn Gabriel, Kristi Knights and Kimberly Leo, field hockey; and Matthew Cosgriff, Justin Woycke, Jennifer Buckley, Linda Consolante, Erin Hanson, Katie Hodge, Rachel Kennedy, Mary Miller and Emily Stevens, soccer.

UM announces football awards

The UMaine football team celebrated the unprecedented success of the 2001 season recently with its annual awards banquet.

Junior quarterback Jake Eaton and junior linebacker Stephen Cooper shared the Harold Westerman Most Valuable Player Award. Cooper, a Buck Buchanan Award finalist and the Atlantic 10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, led the Black Bears with 115 tackles.

Eaton threw touchdown passes in 11 of 12 games, rushed for six TDs and ranked among the league’s top five in passing efficiency, average and total offense. He passed for 2,703 yards and 23 TDs.

Eaton, Cooper and classmate Brendan Curry, a linebacker, were selected as team captains for 2002. Curry, a defensive end, shared the Walter Abbott Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year Award with junior safety David Cusano.

Senior tailback Royston English and sophomore wide receiver Stefan Gomes were co-winners of the Jack Butterfield Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Other honorees included: Dennis Dottin-Carter, Roger Ellis Defensive Lineman of the Year; Zack Magliaro, Woody Carville Senior Achievement Award; Malik Nichols, Ron Rogerson Spirit/Ded-ication Award; Mike Leconte and Lofa Tatupu, Thurlow Cooper Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year; Lennard Byrd, George Wood Special Teams Player; Stephen Cooper, “Maine Man” Strength and Conditioning Award; and Josh Radulski and John Padavan, Jim Butterfield Offense and Defense Scout Team Player of the Year.