Maine Maritime athletics

The Maine Maritime Academy announced Friday afternoon that it is "suspending its football program indefinitely" while the administration reviews the overall financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon programs and the college's operations.

Earlham, the last school to announce a suspension of its football program, did so after the 2018 season and has not reinstated it.

Maine Maritime is a state school with 950 students. The football program listed 64 players on the roster in 2019, including 31 freshmen.

"The football program is our most expensive non-academic program," said school president William J. Brennan. "As the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are already mounting and with the prospect of a 10% curtailment in state funding, we need to review the program's overall impact—and the impact of all programs—on our ability to continue to operate the institution."

"This is an administrative decision brought about by the extreme challenges we are facing as an organization," said Brennan.

Maine Maritime has lost 22 consecutive football games.