Success will help Bears host playoff

One of the philosophies the late Shawn Walsh used to preach to his University of Maine hockey teams was “Don’t worry about things you can’t control. Focus on things you can control.”

That is exactly what Jack Cosgrove and his University of Maine football team did at Appalachian State in their 14-13 Division I-AA playoff triumph on Saturday.

The school’s athletic administration had submitted a bid to the NCAA to host a first-round game. They didn’t receive one while the other two representatives from the Atlantic-10 Conference, Northeastern and Villanova, did get home games.

A respectable crowd of 6,848 watched Northeastern lose to Fordham 29-24 but only 3,031 turned out in Philadephia to watch Villanova oust Furman 45-38.

Maine and Northeastern shared the Atlantic-10 championship and Villanova finished behind them. NU and Villanova probably outbid Maine because they are private schools.

The average attendance at Saturday’s playoff games was 7,410. But, without the 16,211 at McNeese State and the 15,758 at Montana, the average at the other six sites was 4,552.

It should be noted that students were away because it was the post-Thanksgiving weekend.

Maine averaged 5,594 for its five home games this past season.

There are a lot of factors involved in a selection committee’s decision on the awarding of home sites.Attendance is at the top of the list.

Why did the University of Maine baseball team get to host six NCAA Northeast Regional Tournaments between 1980-1991?

Because it was one of few sites in the northeast that would attract 3,000-6,000 fans per day.

Maine is not a football state although there are pockets of football fervor. It is a high school basketball state.

So attendance is predicated on winning. Mainers aren’t going to give up a beautiful fall afternoon to go to a Maine football game unless the team is highly successful or the event is memorable.

Maine’s current 11-2 record, following last year’s 9-3 campaign, marks the first time since 1985-1989 that the Bears have had back-to-back winning seasons.

The 20-5 record over the last two seasons, including a 14-4 record in one of the nation’s best I-AA conferences, should result in an attendance increase next fall.

And, if the Bears qualify for the playoffs, they should receive a home berth.

Cosgrove, his staff and his players have done their jobs. If they keep winning, the NCAA will have to award them a home game.

If the administration could further develop a minor league baseball-hockey mentality to promotions, meaning the more the better. That would definitely be beneficial.

Then there’s the band.

Isn’t there some way the band could learn some new, peppy songs that would add to the experience of attending a Maine game?

The band members should be commended for their dedication and quality of performance. But you hear the same eight songs at every football, hockey and men’s and women’s basketball game.

Maybe it would be worth it to pipe in music from time to time so people don’t get tired of the band. It works at pro games.

Or hire a rock band to play occasionally. A postgame concert on Morse Field could pull in some more fans.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231 or 1-800-310-8600. His e-mail address is lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.