There isn’t much wiggle room in the University of Maine football schedule.

So fans shouldn’t be surprised to see names such as Nebraska, William Penn and Albany on the Black Bears’ 2005 slate.

Among 11 dates, eight are filled by UMaine’s Atlantic 10 Conference foes. That leaves three nonleague contests.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s Bears open Sept. 3 with a monumental challenge against the Cornhuskers of the Big 12, then return home for a game against William Penn of Oskaloosa, Iowa, an NAIA program.

The extreme contrast between those two opponents points to the scheduling challenge facing UMaine these days.

Nebraska represents perhaps the Bears’ toughest opponent in the history of the program, according to Cosgrove.

“I think it’s the ultimate challenge for our program to go into one of the storied college game-day environments,” said Cosgrove, who is wary about taking on the Huskers.

“I don’t know if it’s ever good to play a team like Nebraska, but the challenge we’re taking on is there,” he said. “It will require our utmost preparation and effort.”

The Nebraska game was scheduled for the same reason as last year’s Mississippi State contest. The $350,000 payday is a tremendous boon to UMaine’s athletic coffers.

The Bears’ other two nonconference opponents are William Penn and Albany. While taking on an NAIA program was not UMaine’s first choice – the game will not count toward the Bears’ Division I-AA record – it speaks to the difficulties UMaine has begun to encounter scheduling home games.

“They were willing to come to Orono,” Cosgrove said of the Statesmen.

In addition to UMaine’s geographic location, the program’s recent success, especially at home, also may be scaring away stronger I-AA teams.

“Our success here at Alfond Stadium has kind of shortened the list of people who are willing to come up here,” Cosgrove said.

Morgan State, for example, pulled out of a scheduled 2005 date. The Bears had gone on the road in 2003 and routed the Bears 77-24.

UMaine plays six home games this season, including three by Oct. 1, after playing only once in Orono during the first five weeks of 2004.

Albany, which competes against UMaine in most other sports as a member of America East, could become a good fit for the Bears in the future.

“I think they’re a team that eventually wants to get into a situation like the Atlantic 10,” Cosgrove said. “That’s a regional game with a program, down the road, I could see us having a home-and-home with.”

UMaine also faces a perennially brutal Atlantic 10 schedule that includes home games against Richmond, Massachusetts, Delaware and Rhode Island and road contests at defending national champion James Madison, Hofstra, Northeastern and New Hampshire.

“It just keeps getting better and better,” Cosgrove said of the A-10. “Our ultimate goal each and every year is to win that A-10 championship and have the opportunity to extend our season [in the NCAA playoffs].”

On Friday, UMaine begins its spring workouts. The annual Jeff Cole Spring Scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday, April 23, at 4:30 p.m. and the team wraps up practices on April 30.

2005 UMaine football schedule

September

3 – at Nebraska

10 – William Penn

17 – Richmond*

October

1 – Albany

8 – at James Madison*

15 – at Hofstra*

22 – Massachusetts*

29 – Delaware*

November

5 – at Northeastern*

12 – Rhode Island*

19 – at New Hampshire*

*-Atlantic 10 game