Jim Graffam, the athletic director who helped the University of Maine-Fort Kent make its transition to NAIA Division II play, is leaving the St. John Valley.

Graffam has been hired as the assistant athletic director and head men’s basketball coach at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt.

Graffam, who spent four years guiding Bengal athletics, begins his new duties on Nov. 9. John Murphy, UMFK’s vice president for administration, has been named acting AD until an interim replacement can be appointed.

Eric Werntgen, the assistant AD and the coach of the UMFK women’s soccer and women’s basketball teams, will serve as acting men’s basketball coach until Graffam’s successor is named.

Graffam enjoyed two stints at UMFK, serving as the head men’s basketball coach from 1996-98, then returning as AD in 1999. He helped the program transition from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association to the Maine Athletic Conference and now the Sunrise Conference.

“This is an extraordinary professional opportunity for Jim at Green Mountain and it is well earned,” UMFK President Richard Cost said in a statement. “All of us at UMFK are sorry to lose him, but we wish him the very best in this exciting new career move.”

Prior to working at UMFK, Graffam served as the athletic director and men’s basketball coach at the former Westbrook College in Portland. His teams won three consecutive Mayflower Conference titles from 1993-95. He was named the NAIA District V Coach of the Year in 1993 and was chosen State of Maine coach of the year in 1993 and ’94.

Hailing Husson

Count Wesley College head football coach Mike Drass as a big fan of Husson College’s refurbished John Winkin Sports Complex and its artificial FieldTurf field.

“This field is tremendous. I’d like to take a picture of it and take it back to our president,” said Drass, whose Wolverines play on a grass field at the 2,000-seat Wesley College Athletic Complex.

After his 4-3 Wolverines shut out the Braves Saturday afternoon, Drass also couldn’t say enough about the hospitality his team was shown during its stay in Bangor.

“I came up here to Bar Harbor for my honeymoon, so I already like this place,” Drass said. “But Coach Price and the people at Husson have been great to us. Even in town, they treated us really well.”

Drass, a stocky man who looks like he used to play on the line, said he particularly enjoyed his trip to Miller’s Restaurant and its salad bar.

“Hey, if there’s one thing I know how to find, it’s a good place to eat,” said Drass with a hearty laugh.

Unity sending two to nationals

Eric Rudolph of Sullivan and Stephanie Aten of Ashland, Ohio, will represent Unity College this week in the United States College Athletic Association National Cross Country Championship being held in Tyler, Texas.

Rudolph, a sophomore who was a standout at Ellsworth High School, is making his second straight trip to the nationals. He finished eighth in last year’s event at Dallas.

Rudolph has placed in the top five during each of the invitational races he ran this fall.

Aten, a freshman, has also been a consistent top-five finisher for coach Gene Roy’s Rams.

UMF players nationally ranked

The University of Maine-Farmington has two volleyball players who are ranked in the top 10 nationally in the latest NCAA Division III statistics.

Melissa Blodgett of Rumford ranks third in the country with 1.46 aces per game. The sophomore outside hitter captains a squad that boats an 8-1 North Atlantic Conference record and will host a first-round playoff match Nov. 5.

Hawkes, a freshman outside hitter from Pownal, is ranked eighth in the nation with 1.14 aces per game. The Beavers rank second in the country as a team with 5.85 aces per contest.

MMA volleyball leads Div. III

The Maine Maritime Academy volleyball team ranks first in NCAA Division III play, averaging 6.24 aces per game.

Sophomore Katie Clapham of Crawford leads the Mariners with 1.3 aces per game.

Bowdoin bestows honors

The Bowdoin College Athletic Department lauded five former student-athletes at its second annual Hall of Honor ceremony last Saturday.

The honorees were Dr. Daniel F. Hanley (Class of 1936), Robert A. Kullen (’71), Lissa McGrath Millett (’83), Charles J. Butt, and Philip G. Good (’36).

Hanley spent his career helping Bowdoin athletes by investigating the causes of athletic injuries while also treating them. His work led to the creation of new football cleats and he served on the U.S. Olympic Committee medical staff in the 1960’s and was the chief phsyician for the U.S. Olympic team from 1964 to 1972.

Good holds some of Bowdoin’s oldest track and field records and helped the Polar Bears win four straight state titles plus a New England championship. His NE record mark of 14.8 seconds in the 120 high hurdles still stands. He never lost a heat or final in a New England meet in his final two seasons.

Butt’s 120 career-win total from coaching Bowdoin’s men’s soccer team is still a record and he turned the swimming program into a regional powerhouse while also establishing a women’s team. He accumulated 198 men’s and 132 women’s wins in meets as 50 of his swimmers earned All-American honors.

Kullen was one of the most decorated players in Bowdoin hockey history. He set school records for most assists in a season (21) and three-year varisty career (45) by a defenseman. He was an All-American, MVP of the ECAC championship game, and ECAC All-East his senior year.

Millett was an All-American 19 times in nine different swimming events who captured 11 New England and three national titles. She also held 20 school records at the time she graduated. She still holds records in four events.