ORONO – University of Maine football coaching legend Harold Westerman will be inducted into the Black Bear Football Ring of Honor at Alfond Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 22, during the Maine-Massachusetts contest.

“I cannot think of a greater representative for the Maine Football Ring of Honor than Harold Westerman,” athletic director Blake James said. “Coach Westerman was an innovator in the sport of football and one of the founding fathers for Maine athletics overall. I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to get to know Coach Westerman, and I look forward to joining the Black Bear Nation in thanking him for all his efforts on that special day.”

A pre-game reception honoring Westerman will be held, followed by the Black Bears-Minutemen clash which kicks off at 2:30 p.m.

Westerman devoted 33 years to Maine athletics as an assistant coach (1949-50), head coach (1951-66) and athletic director (1967-82). He holds the school record for most wins as a head coach in football with 80. He ranks seventh all-time in conference history (Yankee Conference/Atlantic 10/CAA) for overall wins and eighth all-time for conference wins with 41.

“Coach Westerman is without question a true legend here at Maine,” said UMaine football head coach Jack Cosgrove, who is four wins shy of tying Westerman’s all-time wins record. “I’ve known him for a long time and he is a terrific person. Talking to former players that played for him, they speak of him as an excellent mentor, role model, person and coach. This recognition is a perfect fit for a man who is a legend in Maine athletics.”

“Westy” as some of his friends called him, graduated from Michigan in 1942 and came to Maine as an assistant coach under Dave Nelson in 1949. Westerman helped Nelson create the Wing-T offense in Orono, which produced the Yankee Conference championship in 1949. Westerman took over the head coaching duties starting with the 1951 season and immediately produced Yankee Conference titles in 1951 and 1952, including an undefeated 6-0-1 mark in”51. He led Maine to an 8-0-1 record in 1961, which produced the third conference title in his head coaching career.

Westerman was at the head of the program’s finest season in 1965, as the Black Bears went 8-2, won the Yankee Conference championship, claimed the Lambert Trophy and earned a berth in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

The Black Bears became the first school in Yankee Conference/Atlantic 10/CAA history to claim the NCAA I-AA Lambert Cup Championship. The Wing-T offense averaged 24 points per game, while the defense held six of its 10 opponents to under 10 points. That season saw six players named to the All-Yankee Conference First-Team, while linebacker John Huard was named a consensus All-American.

Tickets still remain for the game between the Black Bears and Minutemen. Those seeking more information may calll the Maine athletics ticket office at 581-BEAR or toll-free at 1-800-756-TEAM.

UM men picked 4th, women 6th

The University of Maine men’s cross country team was picked fourth (43 points), and the women’s team tabbed sixth (31 points) in the 2007 America East preseason cross country poll, which was released on Thursday. The voting for the poll was done by the league’s nine head coaches, as they could not vote for their own team.

The men’s team returns the services of two runners who placed in the top 25 of the individual standings at the 2006 America East Championship. Senior Donald Drake placed 13th at last year’s league championship, while sophomore Miles Bartlett finished 18th.

The women’s team features the return of a pair of runners who finished in the top 25 at last year’s conference championship. Sophomore Jessica Belliveau placed 14th at the America East meet as a rookie, while classmate Elonnai Hickok took 24th.

On the men’s side of the preseason poll, New Hampshire was picked to win the league after garnering 60 points and four first-place votes. Stony Brook (59 points, 3 first-place votes) and Boston University (50 points, 2 first-place votes) weret second and third, respectively. Maryland Baltimore County (5th, 32 points), Vermont (6th, 30 points), Binghamton (7th, 22 points), Albany (8th, 19 points) and Hartford (9th, 9 points) completed the poll.

On the women’s side, Boston University was tabbed to win the league with 64 points and eight first-place votes. Stony Brook was second with 54 points, while UNH was third with 53 points and one first-place vote. Vermont (40 points), Binghamton (35), Albany (19), UMBC (18) and Hartford (10) rounded out the poll.

Both the Maine men’s and women’s cross country teams begin the season on Sept. 9, when they take part in the America East Prechampionship Meet in Sunken Meadow, N.Y. The first home meet for the Black Bears is Friday, Sept. 21, when they host New Hampshire at 2 p.m. at Alfond Stadium.

Husson field nears completion

The installation of FieldTurf at Husson College’s Boucher Field is expected to be completed in time for a Tuesday practice by the men’s and women’s soccer fields, the Bangor-based school announced Thursday.

The new surface has been put down and lines are currently being added while rubber and sand will be added to the surface to ready the field for play.

The first game on the new turf will be Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m. when the men host UMaine-Fort Kent. The Husson women’s first game on the field will be Saturday, Sept. 8 at noon against Western New England.

The Husson men will open their season in Atlanta on Thursday against Oglethorpe University, followed by a game the next day against Emory University.

The Husson women open n the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Classic in Troy, N.Y., on Saturday, Sept. 1, and then play tourney host RPI the next day.