NEWARK, Del. – The members of the University of Maine football team are now sporting a decal of a white arrow pointing upward on their navy blue helmets.

UMaine on Friday divulged the special decal is being worn again for Saturday’s Atlantic 10 Conference opener against Delaware in honor of Black Bears running backs and special teams coach Jeff Cole.

Cole, who has been on coach Jack Cosgrove’s staff for six seasons, has been battling a form of cancer called transitional cell carcinoma for the last 31/2 years. He has not been with the team since UMaine’s win over Northern Colorado in Orono as he has been undergoing medical treatment.

“At this point, all of our thoughts and prayers are for Jeff and his wife Andrea,” Cosgrove said. “The news on his progress is very positive. His voice on the phone is filled with excitement and hope.”

To protect Cole’s privacy, UMaine players, coaches, administrators, and staff had not spoken about his illness before now. However, the implementation of the helmet decal necessitated an explanation of its purpose.

Prior to this season, Cole created a motivational slogan, “one direction,” for the Black Bears’ special teams units, which he heads up. It was designed to help create an atmosphere of everyone working together and going in “one direction.”

From that arose the idea for the arrow decal, which the Bears first wore during their Sept. 18 game at Mississippi State. It is positioned on the front lefthand side of the helmet, directly above the heart, to serve as a symbolic reminder of Cole.

Cole, a 1996 graduate of St. John Fisher College, has worked with several positional areas during his tenure at UMaine. He was the tight ends coach in 1997 before spending two seasons as the offensive coordinator and line coach at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish.

Cole returned to UMaine in 2000 and spent two years guiding the wide receivers and tight ends. He handled running backs and tight ends in 2002 and 2003 and also has been in charge of special teams.