U. Maine athletic director Blake James has accepted a position working in the University of Miami’s athletic department.

James, who has been UMaine’s athletic director since receiving the interim position in July 2005, will serve as senior associate director for external affairs at Miami. He will be responsible for key components of Miami’s athletic operations, including marketing, development, ticket sales and ticket operations. He will leave UMaine in early September.

“I truly appreciate the opportunity I have been given here at UMaine,” James said in a press release. “My family and I have enjoyed our time here immensely and we will always treasure our experiences as part of the UMaine community.”

The University of Maine qualified for the NCAA Tournament in football, men’s hockey and baseball during James’ tenure. Athletes received a mean grade point average above 3.0 over that time.

“Blake has done an outstanding job managing the UMaine athletic department, and we will miss him,” UMaine President Robert Kennedy said in a press release.

UMaine spokesman Joe Carr, reached Tuesday by phone, said Kennedy would select an interim athletic director before James departs. After that, a national search for a permanent athletic director will begin. Carr couldn’t give a timetable on how long the search would take.

James came UMaine in 2003, at first serving as senior associate athletic director. After ten months as interim athletic director, he was given the permanent job in May 2006 following a national search. He worked at Miami in athletic administration from 1998 to 2001. He has also worked at Providence College in Rhode Island and the University of Nebraska.