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University of Maine head men's basketball coach Ted Woodward begins his fourth season at the helm of the Black Bears. It will be one of the youngest Maine teams in recent memory, as the Black Bears return just one starter and five letterwinners from the 2006-07 campaign. The Black Bears open the season with just one senior and two juniors on the roster. The majority of the team will be comprised of sophomores and freshmen (six). "We are very excited about the players we have brought into our basketball program," said Woodward. "They represent our vision personally, academically, and athletically. Although we have youth, I believe we have a special core of people and players to take this program to a special level, and a group I think fans will enjoy following throughout their careers as Black Bears." Furthermore, the Black Bears will continue to play a strengthened schedule which includes trips to Providence, UConn, Florida State and the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Memphis University this season. Last season, the Black Bears made trips to Penn State, Nevada, Providence and the CBE Classic at Marquette. Last year, Woodward led the Black Bears to a fourth-place finish in the America East Conference. Prior to this season, Woodward led Maine to a fifth-place finish in 2004-05, including a spot in the America East Conference semifinals. He earned his first win as a head coach on November 26, 2004 with a 47-44 win over the University of Rhode Island, and went on that year to a 14-15 overall record with wins over Boston University, Northeastern and Vermont, all postseason teams in either the NCAA or NIT Tournaments. In three years at the helm, Woodward has a combined record of 38-49 with a fifth place, sixth place, and fourth place finish in the America East Conference, respectively. Woodward has developed a number of Black Bears to achieve honors both on and off the basketball court. He has had five players earn America East All-Conference honors including Kevin Reed (twice), Joe Campbell, Ernest Turner, Olli Ahvenniemi and Philippe Tchekane Bofia. Off the court, Woodward has led the Black Bears to achieve tremendous academic success, with many players receiving America East academic honors (David Dubois and Olli Ahvenniemi), and UMaine Scholar-Athlete Honors (Junior Bernal, Jordan Cook, Olli Ahvenniemi, David Dubois, Jesse Keith, Chris Markwood, Jason Hight, Tyson Hartnett, and Philippe Tchekane Bofia). In 2005-06, Maine had six players honored as part of the UMaine Scholar-Athlete program, and four others were named to the America East Academic Honor Roll. Last year, the men's basketball team recorded the highest team grade point average in any year since records began being kept in 1988. In addition, the Black Bear basketball program has taken pride in community service with the team taking part in many community service events throughout the year. Woodward was named the 20th men's basketball head coach in school history on Tuesday, August 31, 2004. Woodward, with 19 years of Division I coaching experience upon his hiring, spent eight seasons as the top assistant coach with the Black Bears prior to being named head coach. He served as associate head coach during the 2003-04 season. Woodward has been part of a Maine coaching staff that has led the Black Bears to appearances in two of the last five America East Championships and the lone pair of 20-win seasons in Maine history. "We are pleased to name Ted as our next men's basketball head coach," said former Director of Athletics Patrick Nero upon his hiring. "He shares the priorities that we have for our athletic program. He understands the high value we put on education, citizenship and the desire for our student-athletes to excel athletically. Ted joins and strengthens what we feel is already a very strong group of head coaches in our program." Woodward, 43, spent eight seasons as John Giannini's top assistant and recruiting coordinator. He is respected as an accomplished recruiter and has played a key role in bringing top level talent to Maine. In addition, he has valuable expertise in the technical and administrative aspects of the program. He has an excellent record as a teacher of basketball, as he has worked with five players in his career who have reached the NBA. Before coming to Maine in 1996, Woodward was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for Mark Adams at Central Connecticut State for five seasons. During his tenure, CCSU set a Division I era school record for wins. Prior to his stint at Central, Woodward was a full-time assistant and recruiter at Harvard University during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, where he also served as Director of Athletic Promotions. He began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Connecticut under Jim Calhoun from 1986-89. While he was at UConn, the Huskies achieved one of the greatest rebuilding projects in college basketball, culminating with three straight postseason appearances in four years, including the 1988 NIT Championship. Woodward had been recognized by his peers in rivals100hoops.com and TheInsidersHoops.com surveys as one of the top assistants in the country. He also served as a specially invited guest of the Portuguese Basketball Coaches Association at their annual clinic in Lisbon. In addition to his work with the basketball team at Maine, he was also head coach of the men's golf team from 1997 to 2001. A native of Suffern, N.Y., Woodward received his bachelor of arts degree in economics from Bucknell in 1986 and his master's in education with an emphasis in sports administration from UConn in 1989. He is married to the former Linda Emery and they have two children, Jillian, 13, and Tommy, 10. |
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