ORONO, Maine – Maine linebacker Stephen Cooper is being investigated for possession of steroids after police found 1,000 pills during a traffic stop last month.

Cooper acknowledged to police that the pills were steroids, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. The pills were seized and the case was referred to the U.S. attorney’s office.

No charges have been filed, and federal prosecutors would not comment on the investigation.

The driver of the vehicle Cooper was stopped Nov. 1 for speeding on Interstate 95 in Hampden, Maine, McCausland said. The state trooper searched the vehicle after obtaining permission from the driver, Patrick Kenney, and Cooper. The pills were found in plastic bags in a duffel bag, McCausland said.

Anabolic steroids, which increase muscle mass, are illegal in the United States unless prescribed by a doctor for medical reasons. Their use is banned by the NCAA.

Neither coach Jack Cosgrove nor athletic director Paul Bubb would comment on the accusation Monday. Maine lost to Georgia Southern 31-7 in the second round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

The trooper, Michael Johnston, notified the university’s director of public safety about the incident soon after it took place, McCausland said.

Bubb said it was only Monday that the university learned from the media about the allegations. Bubb said 26 members of the Black Bears football and track and field teams randomly were tested for steroids last month, and none of the tests came up positive.

A two-time Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, Cooper was named recipient of the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston’s George H. “Bulger” Lowe Award as the top defensive player in New England.

Despite missing two games because of an ankle injury, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior from Wareham, Mass., went into Saturday’s game with 110 tackles, including 70 solo, and 9 1/2 sacks.