CLEVELAND - The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Maine Sports Hall of Fame announced Little East Conference (LEC) Commissioner Al Bean will be a member of the their respective Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The NACDA Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at the NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas June 7-10, while the Maine Sports Hall of Fame will formally induct its Class of 2026 at a ceremony at Hannaford Hall at University of Southern Maine on September 27th.
Bean began his current term as Commissioner of the LEC in September 2024, a role he also held from 1995-2000 following his appointment as athletic director at the University of Southern Maine (USM) in 1993, a founding member of the Little East. His nearly 40 years of service to the Conference included serving as the LEC's first publicist from 1986-90.
Bean has been instrumental in the league’s growth from a six-institution, basketball-only conference to a multi-sport conference that offers 24 championships and is inclusive of nine primary member institutions and 22 affiliate programs with the addition of women's golf and men’s and women’s ice hockey in 2025-26. He previously saw the addition of baseball (1997), field hockey (1998), men's and women's indoor track & field (1999), women's swimming & diving (2000), men's and women's outdoor track & field (1998), and women's volleyball (1995).
On receiving this honor, Bean said "I am deeply humbled and certainly very proud to be receiving this incredible recognition from NACDA. NACDA has played a significant role in my personal development as a professional throughout my career in intercollegiate athletics. As we know, these awards do not come to you without guidance, role models, mentoring and support from many others. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues from the University of Southern Maine and the Little East Conference for their commitment, expertise, and collegiality, and for helping to develop a community that has made a difference for countless student-athletes, staff members and many others. Thank you for this truly wonderful honor."
After a nearly 50-year connection with Southern Maine, Bean announced his retirement as director of athletics in July 2024. 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 tenure with Southern Maine as assistant baseball coach, sports information director, assistant athletics director, and finally director of athletics – a title he held for 31 years. In 2012-13, Bean was named NACDA Athletics Director of the Year and in 2021 he received the National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators (NADIIIAA) Richard A. Rasmussen Lifetime Achievement Award.
During his time leading the athletics department at his alma mater, Bean initiated an external review of USM’s facilities and programs that resulted in the construction of a new field house, ice arena and soccer field, and led the way for more recent facility upgrades that included the completion of the USM Softball Stadium, Ed Flaherty Field, and Hannaford Field. He was instrumental in the formation of the USM Athletic Association, a support group that now includes over 500 members, and the creation of the Husky Hall of Fame.
Among the many memorable athletics highlights at USM 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 championships in track & field and the wrestling program’s first national champion in 2017.
Bean served on numerous national committees, including a four-year term on the NCAA Division III Management Council, a two year term as President of NADIIIAA, and the NACDA Executive Committee from 2010-14. His service also extended to the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Administrative Review Committee, the Association-Wide Committee on Playing and Practice Seasons, Sports Wagering Task Force, National Youth Sports Program, and he has chaired multiple sport committees. He was named the 2024 Higher Education Professional of the Year by the Mitchell Institute, a Maine-based college scholarship foundation created by Senator George J. Mitchell to improve college access and outcomes for students from every community in Maine.
Bean received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Maine, earning his bachelor's in education and history in 1977 and his master's in education in 1992. He resides in Standish, Maine with his wife, Robin, and has three adult children - Spenser, Eva and Jackson. He was inducted into USM's Husky Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 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 with the LEC and at Southern Maine.