SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine—The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) Athletics Department and SeaWolves Athletics Club have strategized a long-term branding initiative inside the HUB Athletics Center, and the first of a series of improvements was completed on Thursday, Jan. 21.
The Varsity Athletic Hallway, leading student-athletes from each of the team locker rooms into the gymnasium, has been decorated with a graphic mural of student-athletes representing each of SMCC’s seven sport offerings—with space to add women’s volleyball next season.
The Varsity Athletic Hallway is dedicated to Chase Soares who contributed as a 2-year member of the men’s basketball program in 2014-15 and again for the 2016-17 season. Chase passed away in a tragic car accident in February of 2020. The hallway design reads Varsity Athletic Hallway in Memory of Chase Soares ’17, and Chase is showcased in a color photo hugging team captain John Morgan following the team’s 2017 Yankee Small College Conference championship win.
Director of Athletics and Head Men’s Basketball Coach Matt Richards commented, “Through the generous donation by the DeBarros family in honor of Chase Soares, SMCC Athletics was able to create a special hallway that signifies the outstanding efforts our student-athletes make each year while paying tribute to a very special former player in Chase.”
