ORONO, Maine (AP) The University of Maine has appointed a veteran college sports administrator as the school’s new athletic director.

New Hampshire native Ken Ralph has worked as the director of athletics at Colorado College for the last 11 years. Before that, the 49-year-old served as the director of athletics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for five years.

UMaine announced Monday that Ralph will begin on Sept. 1, and his contract is for four years with an annual salary of $214,000.

Ralph replaces interim athletic director Jim Settele, who had been in the position since former athletic director Karlton Creech left for the University of Denver in May.

Ralph says he plans to stay in Orono for a while, and views the job as a challenge.