University of Maine, Farmington Men's Basketball

Newton will be entering his first season as a Head Coach in 2024-25 season. Newton is the 7th Men's Basketball Head coach in the program's modern era.  The Beavers posted an 18-9 record a year ago, including a 9-5 record in North Atlantic Conference play. Newton will inherit a talented roster and aim to guide them to the program's first NAC Championship since 2010. Newton began his coaching and player development career in the summer of 2017, assisting in the training of NBA and WNBA athletes such as Paul George, Diana Taurasi, and Anthony Davis, among others, as an on-court player development and strength and conditioning coach for Integrity Hoops. After graduating from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in the spring of 2018, Newton was hired as an Assistant Coach at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. He helped lead the team to their first conference tournament in five years. Following his time at Huntingdon, Newton was hired as an Assistant Coach and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia. Newton played a key role in recruiting and helping to develop numerous Hampden-Sydney athletes who competed in the Division III National Championship this past season. After a COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season, Newton returned to Maine, taking an Assistant Coach position at the University of Southern Maine under Head Coach Rob Sanicola, who Newton played for at Saint Joe’s. Newton served as the Recruiting Coordinator for the Huskies and helped lead them to their first Little East Conference playoff victory in nine seasons. Following one season at USM, Newton was hired as an Assistant Coach at Bates College, where he has been for the past two seasons. He also served as the Recruiting Coordinator and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Bobcats. Newton coached the NESCAC’s leading scorer during the 2022-2023 season and helped land the 2023-2024 NESCAC Rookie of the Year as part of their most recent recruiting class. As a player at Saint Joseph’s, Newton was a four-year starter and 1,000-point scorer for the Monks, starting in all 102 games that he appeared in. For his career, Newton averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and helping lead the Monks to a playoff bid in each of his four seasons. Newton was named the Maine Men’s Basketball Coaches and Writers Association (MMBCWA) Rookie of the Year during the 2014-2015 season.  

Bessey may be a relative newcomer to the UMaine-Farmington bench, but he is hardly new to the University or to coaching. This veteran basketball coach and University of Maine at Farmington graduate brings 40 years of experience to the sidelines, where he will assist Head Coach Dick Meader with game strategy and player development. Bessey joined the UMF staff prior to the 2012-13 season, after retiring following 34 years as head coach at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington (and its predecessor, Farmington High School), where he recorded 421 wins at the helm of the boys basketball program. Coupled with his 58 wins over four seasons at Madison Area Memorial High School, Bessey has amassed 479 wins over 38 seasons. Under his tutelage, the Cougars captured the 1997 Eastern Maine Class A championship, to go with the Western Maine Class C title he won in 1985 at Madison. Bessey himself was named Coach of the Year on six occasions, and he finished his career with 13 consecutive winning seasons. Nine of his players earned all-state honors, and one Mike Adams was named Maines Mr. Basketball in 1990. A long-time member of Mt. Blues social studies faculty, Bessey also served as the departments chair. He is a 1965 cum laude graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington with a Bachelor of Science degree in education, and he received his Master of Arts in history, magna cum laude, the following year from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.  Bessey is married to the former Martha Grady, and the couple has five grown children: Jeffrey, Dan, Anna, J.D., and Jennifer.    Updated 8/13/2013

Newton is the 7th Men's Basketball Head coach in the program's modern era.  The Beavers posted an 18-9 record a year ago, including a 9-5 record in North Atlantic Conference play. Newton will inherit a talented roster and aim to guide them to the program's first NAC Championship since 2010. Newton began his coaching and player development career in the summer of 2017, assisting in the training of NBA and WNBA athletes such as Paul George, Diana Taurasi, and Anthony Davis, among others, as an on-court player development and strength and conditioning coach for Integrity Hoops. After graduating from Saint Josephs College of Maine in the spring of 2018, Newton was hired as an Assistant Coach at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. He helped lead the team to their first conference tournament in five years. Following his time at Huntingdon, Newton was hired as an Assistant Coach and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia. Newton played a key role in recruiting and helping to develop numerous Hampden-Sydney athletes who competed in the Division III National Championship this past season. After a COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season, Newton returned to Maine, taking an Assistant Coach position at the University of Southern Maine under Head Coach Rob Sanicola, who Newton played for at Saint Joes. Newton served as the Recruiting Coordinator for the Huskies and helped lead them to their first Little East Conference playoff victory in nine seasons. Following one season at USM, Newton was hired as an Assistant Coach at Bates College, where he has been for the past two seasons. He also served as the Recruiting Coordinator and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Bobcats. Newton coached the NESCACs leading scorer during the 2022-2023 season and helped land the 2023-2024 NESCAC Rookie of the Year as part of their most recent recruiting class. As a player at Saint Josephs, Newton was a four-year starter and 1,000-point scorer for the Monks, starting in all 102 games that he appeared in. For his career, Newton averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and helping lead the Monks to a playoff bid in each of his four seasons. Newton was named the Maine Mens Basketball Coaches and Writers Association (MMBCWA) Rookie of the Year during the 2014-2015 season.