Paul Kariya only attended the University of Maine for 16 months, but he left a lasting imprint on the school, the community and the state.

UMaine announced Tuesday it will retire the No. 9 hockey jersey worn by Kariya during his career with the Black Bears from 1992-94. A ceremony commemorating the jersey retirement will be held Sunday, July 1, during intermission of the 4 p.m. UMaine alumni hockey game at Alfond Arena in Orono.

Tickets for the game go on sale Monday, June 25, and are available for walk-up sales only at the ticket office located in Alfond Arena. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children and all seats are general admission.

Kariya is the 13th UMaine player or coach to have his or her number retired. He joins Scott Pellerin (No. 8) and Jim Montgomery (19) as the men’s hockey honorees.

The other Black Bears to have their numbers retired are: Basketball, Cindy Blodgett (14), Rachel Bouchard (43), Liz Coffin (44), Emily Ellis (40), Skip Chappelle (34) and Keith Mahaney (24); baseball, coach Jack Butterfield (21), Bill Swift (8), coach John Winkin (5); and soccer, Jeff Spring (1).

Kariya, who plays for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, is one of the National Hockey League’s premier players. At UMaine, he scored 25 goals and registered 75 assists during his freshman season, setting school marks for assists and points (100) in a season while leading the Bears to a 42-1-2 record and the NCAA Division I national championship.

His efforts earned him the Hobey Baker Award given to the nation’s best college hockey player. Kariya was the first freshman so honored.

Kariya captained the squad as a sophomore in 1992-93 before leaving to join the Mighty Ducks. He represented Canada in the 1994 Winter Olympic Games and has since go on to earn all-star recognition in the NHL.

He was inducted into the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and was selected for the Hockey East All-Decade Team.

Nominees for number retirement are considered by a university committee that includes representatives from several different campus groups, including athletics director Sue Tyler, selected coaches, members of the Athletic Advisory Board and the president of the Graduate M Club, among others.

Husson baseball players honored

Travis Reynolds and Tony Creek of Husson College in Bangor have been selected for the 2001 NAIA Academic All-America Team.

Reynolds, a junior pitcher from Rockland, has a 3.80 grade point average in business administration. He had a 2-2 record and a 4.33 earned run average this spring.

Creek, a junior first baseman from Mount Vernon, has a 3.77 GPA in public accounting. He batted .333 with three home runs and 17 runs batted in.

Husson baseball players Don Sawyer of Brewer and Rob Worcester of Columbia Falls have been named NAIA All-America honorable mentions for their on-field efforts.

Sawyer earned this honor for the second time in his career. The senior hit .402 with two homers and 25 RBIs last season and has been selected to play on the NAIA All-Star team later this month in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Worcester posted a 5-2 record with a 3.21 ERA and pitched a no-hitter April 29 against UMaine-Presque Isle.

UM-Farmington to induct five

Three former basketball standouts and two athletes who excelled at basketball and volleyball make up the 2001 class of the University of Maine-Farmington Athletics Hall of Fame.

Jack Williams Bakker, Mary Jo Jabar Hodgkin, Bonnie Lajoie, Dave Williamson and Ira “Bo” Witham Jr. will be inducted during ceremonies scheduled for Saturday at the North Dining Hall of the Olsen Student Center. The event begins with a 5 p.m. social hour and dinner at 6 p.m.

Bakker, of Stanley, N.Y., graduated in 1976 and played basketball and volleyball. Hodgkin, of Leeds, was a member of the Class of ’83 and specialized in basketball.

Lajoie, of Cape Coral, Fla., participated in basketball and volleyball before graduating in 1980. Williamson, a 1964 grad from Woolwich, left his mark on the basketball court as did basketball star Witham, Class of ’41, who will be inducted posthumously.