On February 21, 1878, GovernorSelden Connor signed an act establishing a teachers' school in the northern border region of the state in an effort to Americanize the French settlers of the area. This became known as the Madawaska Training School. The institution held its first classes on September 30, 1878. In 1955 the name was changed to "Fort Kent Normal School" to more accurately reflect its location. The name would change three more times, beginning in 1961 to become "Fort Kent State Teachers College" and then "Fort Kent State College". The institution adopted its current name in 1970.
Fiddlers Jamboree
UMFK has for many years been host to an annual Fiddlers Jamboree where it is often standing-room-only as hundreds of people gather to hear more than 40 fiddlers, guitarists, banjo pickers, drummers and accordion players from both sides of the Canada–US border. The event draws members of the New Brunswick Fiddlers’ Hall of Fame, and is an important complement to the Acadian Archives at UMFK.
UMFK is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. The university has varsity teams in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball. The university also has a number of intramural teams. Since 2010 UMFK soccer teams have been national powerhouses. The varsity men's soccer team won the USCAA National Championship in 2010 and 2015. It was runner up at the 2013 and 2014 tournaments. The varsity "Lady Bengals " women's soccer team won the USCAA National Championship in 2010 and 2011, and then every year from 2013 to 2017, and again in 2019. The UMFK women's soccer team also finished as the runner-up in the 2012 USCAA National Championship Tournament. Professional soccer players Matt Dunn and Kimika Forbes are UMFK alumni. In 2002, UMFK signed an agreement with the United States Biathlon Association allowing the USBA to nominate up to five biathletes for a UMFK scholarship program which allows them to attend the university at the Maine in-state tuition rate and gives them access to the university's training facilities. The agreement was also aimed at training possible Olympic contestants at the university. UMFK also assists with the organization of Biathlon events hosted at the nearby 10th Mountain Ski Center such as the 2005, and upcoming 2009 IBUBiathlon World Cup, March 12–15, 2009, the only U.S. venue on the IBU’s 2008/09 schedule. The 2009 event is expected to host nearly 300 world-class athletes and coaches, draw hundreds of spectators to the Saint John Valley, and capture a worldwide television audience for the three-day competition.
UMFK promotes new learning experiences, such as when members of the UMFK men’s soccer team from Jamaica, Trinidad, and South Africa volunteered at the start of the Can-Am Crown InternationalSled Dog Race in March 2009. For many of the players, it was the first time they had ever seen snow, a sled dog, or a competitive distance race.
