USM could be required to study football

AUGUSTA – A group of lawmakers is making a push for the University of Southern Maine to take a second look at establishing a college football program.

State Rep. John Tuttle, D-Sanford, is leading an effort to require USM to undertake a study of a football team and present its findings next year.

Tuttle said he believes there is enough interest to support a football team, even though football boosters failed three years ago to raise enough money to start a program.

“I have calls from people. They say, ‘Great idea. I will send you a couple grand,”‘ he said.

The effort comes three years after high school football coaches and prominent southern Maine residents tried to raise $2.1 million to get a football program under way.

The money would have paid for a $1 million artificial turf field at the Gorham campus and set up an endowment for an 80-member team. The nonprofit group Friends of USM Football, however, raised only about $300,000.

A university spokesman said the school is still interested in fielding a football team, but it doesn’t want to spend tuition money or taxpayer dollars to start it.

Supporters of a USM team said that only a handful of Maine students play college football at the University of Maine or other NCAA Division I schools. The other college programs in Maine – Husson in Bangor, Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Colby in Waterville, Bowdoin in Brunswick, and Bates in Lewiston – are in Division III.

House Speaker John Richardson, D-Brunswick, has given initial support to the study. He said football has benefits for the school community and Maine students who want to continue playing.

“Not everyone can play Division I football,” Richardson said.

Tuttle said a major donor is ready to contribute as much as $1 million, and the team will get further support if legislators and university officials back it. He said legislators will consider the proposal in the coming months.