After a nearly 50-year relationship with the University of Southern Maine (USM), long-time Director of Athletics Al Bean has announced his retirement from Huskies’ Athletics. Arriving at the University as a student-athlete in 1973 and enjoying a Hall of Fame career as part of the Huskies’ baseball program, Bean went on to have an impactful and award-winning 45-year professional relationship with Southern Maine as assistant baseball coach, Sports Information Director, Assistant Athletic Director, and finally Director of Athletics – a title Bean has held for 31 years.
Completing his final day as Huskies’ Director of Athletics on August 30, Bean’s leadership and experience in Division III Athletics will continue to be put to good use as he has accepted the role of Little East Conference Commissioner. Bean will succeed Pamela S. Samuelson, Ph.D., who announced her retirement earlier this spring, and will begin his new duties with the Little East Conference on September 2, 2024.
Formerly the first publicist, and third commissioner in the history of the Little East Conference (1995-2000), Bean has been inducted into multiple Hall of Fame entities, including the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame and the LEC Hall of Fame. Named the 2013 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Division III Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year, Bean most recently earned the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) Richard A. Rasmussen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
Bean would be quick to assert that among all of his accomplishments, the success of the Huskies was due in no small part to the quality of each student-athlete, coach and administrator associated with the program over the last 40 plus years. From his mentor and friend Dr. Richard A. Costello to his most recent coaching and administrative hires, Bean has emphasized his personal relationships with his colleagues, peers, and student-athletes as the key to his longevity.
“Serving as the athletic director at my alma mater has been an incredible privilege and one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Bean. “I feel so fortunate to have served in this important leadership role for more than 30 years, and for 45 years total in athletics. During my career, I was lucky to work alongside many gifted and truly wonderful people who are deeply committed to their profession and make a difference for our student-athletes every single day. It’s clearly been the staff and student-athletes that have made me want to stay for my entire career and I will most certainly miss day-to-day interactions. While it has been difficult for me to make the decision to leave this university because the institution and the people mean so much to me, I am excited for the next steps. Huskies’ Athletics has been a long chapter of my life, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. My sincere thanks to everyone who has supported me and the athletic department throughout my time as a Husky.”
Photo Supplied by USM Public AffairsAl Bean with USM’s Husky mascott, Champ.
Named USM’s director of athletics in 1993, Bean oversaw the unprecedented growth and success of the university athletics’ program to include its 23 varsity-sport offering, and participation of nearly 500 student-athletes. His tireless efforts to increase the breadth and depth of the student-athlete experience at the University of Southern Maine, Bean initiated an external review of USM’s facilities and programs that resulted in the construction of the Costello Sports Complex fieldhouse, the USM Ice Arena and soccer field in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Bean has also led the way for more recent facility upgrades including the completion of the USM Softball Stadium, Ed Flaherty Field, and the Hannaford Field turf.
During a career marked by hundreds of NCAA tournament bids and appearances, and countless conference championships by teams and individual student-athletes, Bean helped lay the foundation for noteworthy athletic, academic and service to community achievements and honors. During his administrative tenure, Huskies’ Athletics, its teams and its student-athletes have reached the pinnacle of success.
Among the many memorable athletic highlights are the baseball team’s 1997 National Championship and five NCAA Division III World Series Appearances, hosting the 1998 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Final Four and the program’s five NCAA Final Four appearances, individual national championship by track and field stars Jamie Ruginski (2014, 2015 indoor; 2014, 2015 outdoor), Peyton Dostie (2016 indoor), Sophia Slovenski (2021 outdoor) and Ben Drummey (2022, 2023), and the wrestling’s program’s first national champion Dan Del Gallo (2017).
With the personal and professional development of Husky student-athletes always at the front of Bean’s decision-making policies and initiatives, Bean can also be credited with the formation of USM Athletic Development Council, Husky Golf Classic, Husky Hall of Fame, William B. Wise Scholar Athlete Awards program, Husky Senior Honors Night, and USM’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Because academic success and graduation of USM student-athletes have been a priority, the number of Wise Scholar Athletes has grown from 34 student- athletes at the inaugural ceremony in 1988 to a record 257 recipients during the 2023 celebration this fall. With the recent selection of sophomore Kyle Douin to the NCAA Division III Baseball Academic All-America team, Huskies’ Athletics now boast 16 individual prestigious Academic All-American citations, including 2007 College Academic All-American of the Year Ashley Marble of the women’s basketball program, and two-time first team Academic All-American and USM’s first ever Elite 90 Award Winner Dan Del Gallo.
Encouraging the personal and professional growth of USM student-athletes through the pathway of service to community, Huskies’ SAAC has had more than a dozen national citations for its community service efforts from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA).
Since its inception Huskies’ SAAC Community Halloween Party has been a favorite among the greater Gorham, Maine community, providing a fun family-friendly holiday experience and a chance for Southern Maine student-athletes to interact with local area children and it has been recognized by NACDA more than half a dozen times. In 2019 Huskies’ SAAC received NADIIIAA’s highest award, earning the Community Service Award for Special Olympics Activity. More recently, former SAAC president and decorated student-athlete Sophia Slovenski ’23 was named the 2022-2023 Division III Commissioners Association Student-Athlete of the Year, Little East Conference Women’s Sport Student- Athlete of the year and the University of Southern Maine’s NCAA Woman of the Year. Slovenski went on to become the University and Little East Conference’s first NCAA Woman of the Year finalist.
Bean’s work has also impacted athletics outside of USM. Bean served a four-year term on the NCAA Division III Management Council – one of the organization’s highest-ranking governing bodies. As a member of the Management Council, Bean worked on numerous committees including the National Youth Sports Program, Sports Wagering Task Force, National SAAC, and Committee on Playing and Practice Seasons. Bean has been a featured panelist or moderator nearly 30 times, recently serving as a speaker at the 2023 NCAA Convention’s “Striving for Athletics Equity in Title IX’s 50th Year: Strategies and Tools for Campuses,” and has been a member of the NACDA Executive Committee.
Bean received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from USM, earning his bachelor’s in education and history in 1977 and his master’s in education in 1992. He was inducted into USM’s Husky Hall of Fame in 1989 in recognition of his record-setting pitching career, and was among the 11-member inaugural LEC Hall of Fame class in 2012 in recognition of his service as an administrator at USM.