Dave Patterson has resigned as the men’s soccer coach and sports information director at Maine Maritime Academy to accept a position with the Maine Department of Education.

He will be an education specialist focusing on distance education.

He started his new job Monday but will stay on as sports information director through the completion of the basketball season.

“This is a good opportunity. It’s a good career move for me and my family,” said the 43-year-old Patterson, who was offered the job. “I’ll have a more traditional schedule. For the most part, I’ll have my weekends off.”

He said between his roles as soccer coach and sports information director, most of his weekends and many of his nights were occupied.

Patterson’s teams compiled a 9-20-5 record in his two seasons at MMA.

“I really enjoyed my two years at Maine Maritime. It’s a special place. I’m sorry about leaving. It all happened very quickly. I had to think long and hard about it,” said Patterson, who lives in Bangor with wife Lori and sons Sam and Jack.

Patterson had previously spent four seasons as the women’s coach at the University of Maine, registering a 21-43-5 mark.

He had also worked in the University of Maine College of Education’s distance-education project, which connected 91 sites in high schools across the state so they could share their class and course work via high-speed video.

The Lugan, Northern Ireland, native’s new job is similar.

“I’m very excited about it. We’re going to be using a wide range of technology to allow people to get an education without having to set foot on a campus,” said Patterson.

He said youngsters as well as adults who wouldn’t normally have the ability to take a specific course due to their geographic location will have that opportunity through the distance-education program.

“This will bring the education to them,” said Patterson.