The University of Maine men’s basketball team will look different on the court this year, with a wave of new arrivals that includes much-anticipated freshman Ace Flagg. But the biggest difference for the Black Bears this season might be the swelling fan support and high level of excitement that has grown around the program.
The UMaine men start their season in earnest on Monday night, traveling to Washington, D.C. for their regular season opener against George Washington University at 8 p.m. They beat Husson University 89-47 in a friendly scrimmage last week. Even as the season is just getting underway, it’s already looking a lot different for the team.
That’s because the Black Bears have already sold out season tickets for their home games. Individual game tickets are also sold out for their home opener on November 16. However, athletic department officials say that more opening day tickets could become available during the week of the game if the teams and student groups have any left over.
Logan Desmond, UMaine’s associate athletic director for revenue generation, told the Bangor Daily News that until now, he had not seen a men’s basketball home opener sell out since he started working in the athletic department during the 2017-2018 season. This is also the first time in at least a decade that men’s basketball has sold out its season tickets.
Desmond was positive that this hadn’t happened at least since the 2013-14 season, when UMaine basketball began a period of several years playing home games at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. He also thought it may not have happened during the stretch when the men’s and women’s basketball teams played at the Alfond Arena, which dates back to 1992. So it’s possible that the men’s basketball season ticket sales are as strong this year as they have been in over 30 years.
Athletic Director Jude Killy said the department has a historical tracker for ticket sales going back to around 2006-07. “And this is the strongest season ticket sales have been during that time,” Killy said. “So yeah, the enthusiasm around it is at least in the last 15-20 years unmatched in terms of people buying tickets for the program.”
Killy agreed that there is “a lot of positive energy around the program” and excitement about the possibilities that lie ahead for the Black Bears. He thinks there are a variety of reasons why.
He credited head coach Chris Markwood for doing a “phenomenal job” developing the program and recruiting players, and pointed to the momentum from last year’s runner-up finish in the America East tournament. The Black Bears fell just one game short of their first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament.
Killy also mentioned the buzz about the forthcoming new UMaine basketball arena, still a few years down the road, along with the youth and energy Markwood has added to the roster—all part of the promising equation for the team.
“We’re just really excited about all of those things kind of coming together at the same time,” Killy said.
It doesn’t hurt that Markwood and several of his players are from Maine. Markwood played his high school basketball at South Portland and eventually came back to Maine to captain the Black Bears team later in his college playing career. He’s now added two Mainers to the roster, with Newport native Flagg and former Old Town standout Emmitt Byther starting their freshman campaigns.
“Look at our roster, and look at our coaching staff, and you’ve got multiple people with ties to Maine,” Killy said.
Killy also pointed to the longstanding success of the UMaine women’s basketball program and credited both women’s coach Amy Vachon and Markwood for the jobs they are doing. He noted that women’s basketball ticket sales continue to grow as well.
Even with all that off-the-court excitement, Killy stressed that the season will still come down to on-the-court success. “It’s great to have the excitement and enthusiasm, but at the end of the day, we have to win games,” he said.
Killy expects a learning curve for the new-look men’s team and will be on hand in Washington, D.C. Monday night as the Black Bears face their first test of the young season.
UMaine was picked to finish tied for second in America East, while George Washington was picked fourth in the Atlantic-10 Conference.
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/11/03/sports/college-basketball/big-changes-in-the-stands-umaine-mens-basketball-n6hjn1me0n/
