Willie Nelson’s hit song “On the Road Again” extolled the virtues of heading out on the open road.

The University of Maine football team hasn’t developed that kind of affection for travel, but the Black Bears nonetheless have happily embarked on another road trip, this one the longest of the 2002 season.

Coach Jack Cosgrove and his team departed Orono Wednesday night to begin what will be a four-day round trip to Miami for Saturday’s non-conference game against Florida International.

The eighth-ranked Bears, who boast a 6-1 record, are on the road for the fifth time in the last six games. It is their sixth game away from Orono this season, but UMaine is 4-1 in the first five.

“It’s been almost normal for us now to be packing and getting ready to go on the road,” Cosgrove said Thursday. “We’ve got some business in front of us we’ve got to take care of. We’re going to warm weather, a great climate, and a great environment for football.”

Getting there is the hard part.

UMaine departed Orono Thursday night on their way to an overnight in Portland. The Bears were then scheduled to head for Boston Friday morning to catch their commercial flight to Miami.

“I wasn’t comfortable leaving out of here at 5 o’clock in the morning [Friday],” Cosgrove said. “We’ve got to get down to Boston and we’ve got to get to Miami. That’s going to knock the crap out of us.”

Cosgrove said UMaine chose the commercial travel route because of the cost of such a lengthy charter flight.

“We’re still saving some big dollars here because the charter flight was kind of steep on this one [$58,000] because of the distance.”

UMaine plays first-year program Florida International Saturday at 3:30 p.m., but couldn’t get a return flight until Sunday.

“We couldn’t get back after the game, so it just spreads itself out,” Cosgrove said.

UMaine to play power Montana

Defending Division I-AA football national champion Montana, which is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, will make Orono its first stop during the 2003 season.

Montana has announced it has agreed to a home-and-home schedule with UMaine, with the Bears slated to make the trip to Missoula in 2004.

“I am particularly happy to be playing Maine home-and-home for the first time ever as they are a nationally-ranked program… ,” said Montana athletic director Wayne Hogan.

Cosgrove declined to comment on the schedule, saying he preferred to concentrate on this season.

Blue-White basketball set Sunday

Fans of the UMaine men’s and women’s basketball teams will be able to get their first glimpse at the 2002-03 Black Bear teams Sunday afternoon during the annual Blue-White scrimmages.

The action begins at 3 p.m. when John Giannini’s UMaine men take the court at Alfond Arena. Coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bear women take over the spotlight at approximately 4:30 p.m.

General admission is $2.

Both teams are working hard in preparation for the start of the season. The women had two practices per day Saturday through Tuesday.

“The upperclassmen are doing a great job teaching the freshmen the details of things,” Versyp said. “What is great is that in each spot we have experience, so that enables us to learn quicker.”

There should be plenty of excitement surrounding UMaine basketball this season. The men’s team made it all the way to the America East championship game last season and have added some outstanding talent.

Meanwhile, the UMaine women feature a nice mix of veterans and promising newcomers and should make a run at the conference title.