The University of Maine’s athletics department will again benefit hugely from the generosity of alum and Boston Red Sox minority owner Phillip Morse.
Morse, who has already donated $12.8 million to UMaine through four major gifts over the past 20 years, has supplied the athletics department with a $10 million gift that will be used for capital projects and facility maintenance as well as efforts to recruit and retain student-athletes and coaches.
Morse Field in Alfond Stadium, where the UMaine football team plays, is named after him and his late wife, Susan.
In 2022, they made a $10 million estate donation for the naming rights to the new on-campus basketball facility, which is expected to be completed for the 2027-28 campaign.
It will be called Morse Arena, and the games will be played on the Skip Chappelle Court.
Chappelle is a former UMaine Little All-American basketball player who went on to have a long career as the UMaine men’s basketball coach. He has been inducted into several Halls of Fame.
Morse and Chappelle attended UMaine together and are close friends.
The $10 million gift will provide longterm maintenance for the Morse Arena, Alfond Stadium and the Alfond Arena and will be used to establish the Morse Recruitment and Retention Fund, which is designed to recruit and retain UMaine coaches, staff and student-athletes.
There will also be the Morse Baseball Support Fund, which will address the various needs of the baseball program, and the launching of the Morse Capital Needs Fund, which will support priority projects including a new turf surface on the football field.
In a press release, Morse said it was a “privilege for me to continue to provide financial support to assist in enhancing the campus and athletics footprint at UMaine.”
He said he has “so many wonderful memories from my time in Orono and remain close with several friends I first met back in the early 1960s at the university, including Skip Chappelle. It’s my honor to dedicate the court in his name and further recognize his Hall of Fame career as both a coach and a student-athlete at UMaine.”
The court at the Memorial Gym in Orono has already been named in his honor.
Morse, a native of Danvers, Massachusetts, played baseball at UMaine and has been the vice chairman of the Boston Red Sox since 2004 and an ownership partner since 2002. He founded the North American Instrument Corporation in 1969, which pioneered the first transparent fluid delivery system for coronary angiography. It is called the Morse Manifold.
UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Athletics Director Jude Killy expressed their appreciation for Morse and the donation in statements.
“The extraordinary commitment from Phillip Morse reflects a deep and enduring belief in the University of Maine and the power of athletics to shape lives and strengthen communities,” said Ferrini-Mundy. “His generosity will have a lasting impact on our student-athletes, our facilities and our ability to compete and succeed at the highest levels.”
Killy called Phillip and Susan Morse’s loyalty and commitment to UMaine athletics “truly remarkable.”
“We are so appreciative of Phil’s continued interest and investment in our student-athletes and sports programs,” he said. “This gift, on top of Morse Field, Morse Arena and others Phil and Sue have supported, will aid the future of our department and operations in incredibly meaningful ways.”
