Welcome to M Club
Dedicated to Maine Athletes…Past, Present & Future
Abbott, Libbey, Ellis, Coulombe Honored
University of Maine sports greats Walt Abbott, Dennis Libbey, Emily Ellis and Phillip Coulombe were honored on May 20 as members of the 37th class of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.
The Bangor Daily News profiled Abbott, Libbey, Ellis and Coulombe in leading up to the dinner at the Bangor Civic Center. The other inductees were Ed Guiski, Matt Hancock, Howard Vandersea and Dana Wilson.
Abbott was a three-time M winner as a guard on the Maine football team, served on legendary coach Hal Westerman’s football staff, succeeded Westerman as head coach, served as interim athletic director and was a mentor to generations of Maine students as a faculty member.
Libbey is also an inductee into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, held several records as a shortstop for the Black Bears under another legendary Maine coach, Jack Butterfield, has remained active in baseball as a youth coach and is a past president of the M Club.
Ellis was a record-setting basketball player for Maine and is a member of a very exclusive club at the university, having had her number retired.
Coulombe was a hard-nosed running back who as a senior gained 108 yards in 15 carries in a 16-7 victory over the University of Connecticut.
University President Paul Ferguson, former Maine Gov. John Baldacci and Athletic Director Steve Abbott will be the special guest speakers at the M Club’s annual meeting on Saturday, June 2 during reunion weekend.
All M Club members who are current on their dues are invited to the 8 o’clock breakfast meeting on campus at the Wells Conference Center. Reservations for the breakfast buffet must be made by May 30 by calling (207) 581-4718. The cost is $15, payable at the door; if you pay by check, it must be made out to UMAA, not the M Club.
Any questions can be addressed to M Club President Guy Whitten at (207) 852-6435.
Update on Memorial Gym Renovation
Guy Whitten ’63, president of the M Club, has been participating in the regular meetings of the Memorial Gym Building Committee, which is integrally involved in planning for the renovation of The Pit and fieldhouse. He was named to the committee by University of Maine President Paul Ferguson.
This appointment gives the M Club president a significant role in assuring that the $14 million renovation project meets not only core construction issues and legal ADA standards but also the needs and desires of the athletes and coaches who will be using the facility on a daily basis.
Dick Collins ’59, a former UMaine basketball captain and a major benefactor for the university and athletics, is also on the seven-person committee, which meets twice a month.
Pete Warner of The Bangor Daily New recently wrote an informative story about the project including the tentative timetable and the issues involved.
M Club Membership
If you are not current on your dues, and wish to attend the annual M Club meeting, it’s never too late to renew your membership, which runs annually from July through the following June. Or, if you are a Black Bear letter winner but have not been a dues-paying member, it’s certainly time to become a member. The M Club provides a great chance to get involved again with the University of Maine and your former teammates, and to support the current Black Bears.
The Maine Book: Now complete on-line
“The Maine Book: University of Maine Athletics 1881-2007″ is now posted on the M Club website in its entirety, completing a project begun last fall.
“The Maine Book” was a massive undertaking and labor of love for former UMaine athletic director Stu Haskell ’56. Every team, every athlete, everyone who ever performed for the Black Bears through 2007 is now here. The records, the statistics, team photos. If it’s not in the book, it didn’t happen.
Almost 800 pages. The M Club owes Stu many thanks for making them all available to everyone.
Links to Former Black Bears
If you know of any newspaper or magazine stories about former Maine athletes in their current lives, be it business, family or still in sports, let M Club board member Bob Kelleter know and we’ll link it up below for all to see. E-mail him at bob@kelleter.us with the URL. Thank you!
(The M Club board meets every third Wednesday, September through May.)