Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
You seem to be a little sensitive, I'd hate to see how off the handle you might go if I was really trying to do damage. Chill, dude.
Obviously, the Alfonds have been very generous to UMaine, and to other schools as well. I'm sure you're aware there is a brand new $100M facility an hour south of Orono at Colby College in Waterville that bears Alfond's name, too. At least looking at the on-line renderings of the Orono renovation, it's nice, and I'm with you on the "intimate setting" advantages, you'll note that I put your place next to Mathews as my two favorite HEA road destinations. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the circus tent roof features, but like the "Whale" down at Ingalls/Yale, I suppose that's part of the place's overall charm, and it's definitely unique, you know where you are when you see it, so if the powers-that-be prefer maintaining that. and the modest 5,000 seat capacity, who am I to question them?
Is it wrong to at least question why the Alfonds didn't do a deeper dive into their trust funds, and spring for an entirely new. state-of-the-art arena in Orono though? Seems like a once-in-a-generation (century?) opportunity to start from scratch with a 7,500-8,000 seater, including the upgrades being put into the current place, would at least have been an option? And if you guys still insist on the tent-pole circus roof look, modern engineering can pull off miracles, no??
Anyway ... ultimately, the issues faced by UMaine trying to stay competitive are largely (in some cases entirely) out of their control. Location, location, location is and always has been a primary issue. Your campus is virtually equidistant from Boston MA and Moncton NB, and (much) closer to the latter when traffic is worked into the equation. Isolation isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you, so long as the locale is booming, and for you guys ... well, Bangor. Compared to potty's comps of the "dregs" of UVM (Burlington) and UNH (Portsmouth), Bangor is a distant third. UNH has a direct rail connection into the TD Garden in Boston, which you guys up in the Downeast also have ... IF you drive two hours south to Portland first, and then take the same rail connection UNH has, with UNH being the halfway point in that journey. And while UVM doesn't have Boston, it's closer to Montreal than you guys are to Portland. None of that helps.
I hate rolling that stuff out, because most of it belabors the obvious, and some UMaine-iacs have an inferiority complex that can only be solved by the *two NCAA titles (that's you, sparks), but overall I have always believed the UMaine and UNH fan bases have more in common than we do in opposition. And just to bring the discussion back to the original topic of resources and facilities, and how that sets things up for the future of our schools in HEA (and beyond?), if the argument is that UMS has a slightly better relationship with Augusta than USNH has with Concord, you may have that point (at least for now, as political winds change quickly and unexpectedly). The Alfonds are a great asset as UMaine benefactors, no doubt. And despite these positive recent developments down in UNH-land, the TDL's and JMS' of the world have a LONG way to go to catch up to the Alfonds. But they're just getting started, and the support they have started to tap into privately is broad and deep, and will only continue to grow as the economics of the Seacoast region (including Newburyport MA and York ME) continues to drive the local economic engine. Can these folks make a meaningful change in the long-term outlook for UNH? Time will tell, but as I've said a bunch of times over the last few weeks, the timing of the announcement here is very encouraging, and seems to be a statement of intent. We'll see ...
Long-term, the current "Alfond advantage" UMaine has over UNH may be going away, as the impression I've gotten from you folks over the years is that after the Alfonds, the "benefactor bench" for UMaine is pretty short and shallow. Having all of your eggs in one basket is always a risk, and hopefully what we're starting to see publicly down here is indeed a broad and eventually deep (pocketed) group of UNH benefactors that will allow UNH to stay HEA relevant.
But the UNH folks are definitely on the clock. If the UNH admins mess this up, they will only have themselves to blame for not getting ahead of this sooner and more meaningfully. The visionary spirit of '93 that got UNH to the front of the HEA line with The Whitt will have otherwise been squandered. JMHO.
you will be accepted. Also, USNH has streamlined the process to transfer to the U from NH Community Colleges. Because of the budget/funding constraints, out of state applicants with dough are very attractive to the U as well. Good safety school.
