University of Maine Chancellor Joseph Westphal announced late last month that the University of Maine System faces a budget cut of $1.85 million for 2003.

In spite of that news, the UMaine athletic department will not ask its 19 varsity coaches to cut back their budgets to help withstand the proposed reductions.

According to UMaine interim athletic director Paul Bubb, the department should be able to cover the latest cuts.

“Back early in the fall there was the thought there may be a midyear adjustment and we had been planning on how we would cover that,” Bubb said.

“Mark Anderson and his staff in the fiscal office have done a pretty good job of alerting us to what might be coming,” he added.

Bubb explained most of the budget reduction will be covered by funds generated by the unexpected tuition increase, which had not been accounted for in the budget.

“It’s nice to have that to fall back on,” Bubb said.

“We had other contingency plans, using other funds within the athletic department, so we’re able at this point not to ask any of the coaches to reduce their budgets,” Bubb said.

The athletic department also is operating with several people in interim positions, which has resulted in considerable salary savings.

Hoff inquiry continues

UMaine President Peter Hoff continues to look into the way university officials handled the recent incident involving steroid possession by former football player Stephen Cooper.

UMaine spokesman Joe Carr said Hoff is still reviewing the aftermath of a state police traffic stop on Dec. 1 during which Cooper was found in possession of what turned out to be more than 1,200 anabolic steroid pills.

Cooper recently pleaded guilty to possessing the drugs at U.S. District Court in Bangor and is awaiting sentencing.

Hoff apparently is interested in several details, including who in the UMaine athletic department knew about Cooper’s situation, when they found out about it, what action was taken, if any, and why Cooper was allowed to continue practicing and playing with the football team despite having committed a clear violation of team rules and the university’s student code of conduct.

A decision could be forthcoming in the near future.

UM offers students free tickets

The University of Maine is honoring the region’s most dedicated students Saturday with the opportunity to watch the UMaine-Binghamton men’s basketball game for free.

The “A-plus Attendance” promotion offers two free tickets to any student in kindergarten through eighth grade who received all “A’s” or had perfect attendance during the first academic quarter last fall.

The UMaine ticket office already has distributed 500 tickets for Saturday’s 1 p.m. contest at Alfond Arena in Orono. Shaun Russell, UMaine’s director of athletic marketing and promotions, said there also should be a large number of walk-up sales on Saturday.

For more information, contact the ticket office at 581-2327 or 1-800-756-8326.

UMaine hockey games sold out

Tickets for the remaining eight UMaine men’s hockey home games are going to be hard to come by.

Bubb said he has been informed the rest of the games at Alfond Arena are officially sold out.

The only tickets that could become available are any that might be returned to the UMaine athletic ticket office by the visiting teams prior to each game. For information on the potential availability of those tickets, contact the ticket office at 581-2327 or 1-800-756-8326.

UM football banquet deadline set

Fans and supporters of the UMaine football program who wish to attend the annual team awards banquet need to make reservations by today at 4 p.m.

The banquet is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Wells Commons and Conference Center on the UMaine campus. The event begins with a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m., followed by the program.

Tickets are $25 each, with donations accepted to help offset player meals. For more information, contact Caren Ford in the football office at 581-1062.