Former University of Southern Maine Athletic Director Al Bean and Olympic sailor David Hughes ’99 will be inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday, Sept. 27. Their stories at the university are intertwined, dating to Hughes’ years as a student, when Bean helped the fledgling USM sailing team find its footing.
Bean’s decades-long connection to USM dates back to 1973, when he arrived as a student-athlete on the baseball team. He served as director of athletics from 1993 until August 2024. Under his leadership, the department grew to 23 varsity sports and nearly 500 student-athletes. He now serves as commissioner of the Little East Conference.
“You don’t do this stuff without a whole lot of great people behind you,” Bean said. “I’ve worked with great people. I’ve learned from great people. And I am clearly the sum of a lot of parts along the way.”
The recognition caps a notable year. Bean was recently inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame at its convention in Las Vegas, and USM is naming a campus street in his honor.
Hughes, who grew up in Yarmouth, competed for the United States in sailing at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and coached the U.S. team at the 2012 Games. He manages North Sails’ U.S. operations and serves as a vice president of World Sailing, the sport’s international governing body.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Hughes said of the induction. “I am thrilled to receive this recognition.”
The two men crossed paths during Hughes’ student years, when USM sailing was small and short on boats and money. Hughes, who had sailed since boyhood, helped recruit members, secured a van for weekend regattas across New England, and pushed the club toward varsity status. Bean oversaw the program and leaned on the students to build it.
“He was instrumental in believing in us, in the sailing team, and specifically me,” Hughes said. “You need that outside support of somebody believing in you, and Al did that for sure.”
The 2026 Maine Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at Hannaford Hall on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus. Bean and Hughes are among 11 inductees in this year’s class. The ceremony will also be recorded for broadcast on Maine Public Television. Tickets are available here.