The University of Maine and men’s hockey coach Ben Barr agreed to a contract extension, the school announced Wednesday.
The deal is retroactive to Jan. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2028. Barr, who is in his third season with the Black Bears, will earn $425,000 in 2024-25, with an annual increase of $15,000 through 2028. The deal includes additional compensation for his assistant coaches. The contract replaces the one signed by Barr when hired in 2021, which was a four-year deal. This season he was making $256,000.
“Our staff feels fortunate to be at the University of Maine at this current moment,” Barr said in a statement provided by the school. “With the commitment from the school and the generosity of the Alfond Foundation, we feel Black Bear hockey can sustain success for years to come. Our staff and my family are humbled to be trusted with this program for the foreseeable future, and we will do everything in our power to keep improving every day.”
The Black Bears have seen steady improvement in each of Barr’s three seasons. Maine (16-4-1) is ranked No. 6 in the country in the uscho.com poll. At 16-4-2, this is the first time since 2003-04 the Black Bears reached 16 wins in 22 games. Maine is 8-3-1 in Hockey East, sitting in third place.
“Ben and his staff have done an exceptional job of building our men’s ice hockey program into a national contender again,” Athletic Director Jude Killy said in the release. “There is an energy around this group that is palpable and points toward our historical place in the upper echelon of college hockey.”
Barr’s new contract is the second in two days for a Maine head coach. Tuesday, women’s basketball coach Amy Vachon agreed to a new deal that runs through 2028.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
SOUTHERN MAINE 58, UMASS-BOSTON 54: The Huskies (9-12, 7-5 Little East) used a 23-16 run in the third period to take control, then held off the Beacons (4-15, 2-10) at Gorham.
Tamrah Gould scored 14 points and Amy Fleming added 11 for USM.
UNIVERSTY OF NEW ENGLAND 67, WENTWORTH 39: Faye Veilleux hit 12 of 15 shots and scored 26 points to lead the Nor’easters (14-6, 9-3 Commonwealth Coast) over Wentworth (4-14, 0-11) at Biddeford.
Jordyn Franzen scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half to propel UNE to a 41-22 lead.
SOUTHERN MAINE CC 89, NEW HAMPSHIRE TI 36: Maddy York scored 18 points to lead 14 scorers for the Seawolves (17-4, 9-3 Yankee Small College) against New Hampshire TI (2-9, 1-7) at Concord, New Hampshire.
Hope Butler and Aija Andrews added 12 points each for SMCC, which led 43-22 at halftime.
(10) INDIANA 87, MARYLAND 73: Mackenzie Holmes of Gorham had 23 points and 10 rebounds, seven offensive, to lead the Hoosiers (18-2, 9-1 Big Ten) past the Terrapins (12-9, 4-6) at College Park, Maryland.
(11) CONNECTICUT 81, VILLANOVA 60: Aaliyah Edwards scored 22 points, Paige Bueckers added 21 and UConn (18-4, 10-0 Big East) hit 20 of 28 shots in the second half to pull away from the Wildcats (13-8, 6-4) at Philadelphia.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
WENTWORTH 89, UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 85: Nathaniel Smith hit two free throws with five seconds left, his only points, to clinch the victory for the Leopards (10-10, 5-6 Commonwealth Coast) against the Nor’easters (5-15, 0-12) at Biddeford.
Jack Pyzynski scored 20 points for UNE, which had a chance to tie or go ahead in the final 15 seconds before a turnover led to the final free throws. The Nor’easters have lost 13 straight.
SOUTHERN MAINE 872, UMASS-BOSTON 65: Chance Dixon scored 22 points and Tommy Whelan added 10 to lead the Huskies (11-9, 7-5 Little East) past UMass-Boston (6-15, 5-7) at Gorham.
USM led 42-27 at halftime and held a 17-point lead before withstanding a comeback.
(2) PURDUE 105, NORTHWESTERN 96: Zach Edey scored 10 of his 30 points in overtime and Lance Jones had 26 to lead Purdue (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten) past Northwestern (15-6, 6-4) at Evanston, Illinois.
(24) ALABAMA 85, GEORGIA 76: Mark Sears scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half as Alabama (15-6, 7-1 Southeastern) beat Georgia (14-7, 4-4) at Athens, Georgia.
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