Attending a college football game is usually a study in patience. Not so for the Ball family as they drove to Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Va., Saturday afternoon.

Parking was a breeze, there was no waiting at the ticket gate, they could sit wherever they wanted, and there were no long lines at the concession stands.

The Ball family intended to be three of the 10,000-15,000 fans in attendance for the Maine-William & Mary football game, but its cancellation threw their plans into disarray.

“To me it was kind of devastating there was no game because we’d made all these plans with our family and everything,” said Jeff Ball, whose wife Jackie – a Philadelphia native who attended Southern Maine Technical College – is the mother of starting Black Bear center Michael Leconte.

The Balls have attended several Black Bear games the last three years despite living in St. Louis, Mo., before moving to South Portland last November.

“Since we got here, we’ve seen most every game,” said Ball, who is the executive director of The Park, Maine’s largest indoor skate park, in Bath.

The Balls bought non-refundable airline tickets to fly from Manchester, N.H., to Williamsburg and see the game.

“We bought our tickets a month and a half ago. We flew out Friday night and came back Sunday morning,” Ball said.

Since the game was off, the Balls had more time to spend with family as they brought 21-month-old daughter Kyla along to see Ball’s mother, father, aunt, and uncle, who live in North Carolina and Williamsburg, respectively.

“We don’t see them often, twice a year if that, so it was still definitely a positive experience,” said the Pennsylvania native. “It was a short trip, but we made the most of it.”

The Balls visited Colonial Williamsburg on Saturday, but still made time to go to the stadium and get their pictures taken on the field and beside the sign outside that listed the game as canceled.

Getting reorganized

The University of Maine athletic department has reorganized itself with several hires and promotions.

Chief among the recent moves is the hiring of Blake James, who joins the staff as senior associate athletic director. James, who was Providence College’s director of athletic development, is now responsible for overseeing all external affairs activities for the athletic department. At Providence, he oversaw all aspects of fundraising including donor solicitations and cultivation.

Maine Sports Hall of Fame member Ann England-Maxim returns to the department as director of academic support services. The UMaine graduate spent the last four years in the university’s academic and career exploration program, the last three as its director.

Brent Williamson is UMaine’s new assistant athletic director for public relations, meaning he is heading up the department’s media and P.R. efforts. Williamson was the Houston Texans’ media relations director after a five-year stint as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ media relations coordinator.

Sue Randall has been promoted from the athletic department’s business manager to assistant athletic director for business. The 1989 UMaine graduate has been working at the college since 1970.

Mike McCollum will direct the athletic department’s relations with the business community as director of corporate sales. McCollum comes to Maine from Fort Worth, Texas, where he was the Fort Worth Brahmas hockey club’s manager of corporate sales.

Former assistant manager of athletic media relations Julia Eberhart has accepted a new position as athletic marketing assistant.

Christina Guerrette Kerluke joins the athletic department on an interim basis as an athletic academic counselor.

“These latest administrative moves impact our long-term financial stability as they are in areas that affect our revenues and budgets,” said athletic director Patrick Nero in a university press release. “We have attracted some high-quality individuals to our staff as well as made some positive moves in retaining current staff that have proven to be of great value in the past.”

Kelly is Fury’s player of year

University of Maine junior back Allison Kelly was selected as the Ottawa Fury’s W-League player of the year for her performance last summer. The Black Bear player from Cambridge, Ontario, has started all eight games for the 7-1 Bears this fall and is a key member of the defense that has allowed just five goals in eight games – two of those shutouts.

Hockey coaches to hold clinic

The Friends of Maine Hockey and the University of Maine coaching staff will hold a free women’s-only clinic Thursday at the Dexter Lounge from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Through the use of video and questions, Maine coaches will explain the rules of the game, play strategy, referee signals, and penalties. To reserve a spot at the clinic, contact Betty Donovan at 581-5111 or 942-9252, or Jeanne Goss at 581-1106.