University of Maine women's basketball coach Richard Barron will take an indefinite leave of absence from the program to deal with an undisclosed medical condition.

The University of Maine released a statement on Friday and said the leave will be effective January 6th with no timetable for a return.  Associate Head Coach Amy Vachon will take over as the interim Head Coach.  She is currently in her sixth season with the program.  Barron had been dealing with health problems since the home contest with Dartmouth in December.  He did make the trip with the team over the winter holiday down to Florida and Louisiana, and recently to Vermont on Wednesday.

"I appreciate the concern people have showed me over the past month," said Barron in the release. "My condition was not improving and the medication had side effects that interfered with coaching effectively."

Barron is in his sixth season with the Black Bears and has taken the team to two straight WNIT berths after earning a share of the conference regular season crown.  During his tenure he has an 85-90 overall record with UMaine.  The Black Bears will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the UMBC Retrievers to the Cross Insurance Center.

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