Boston College Eagles
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| Boston College Eagles | |
 |
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| University | Boston College |
|---|---|
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| NCAA | Division I-A |
| Athletics director | Gene DiFillippo |
| Location | Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Varsity Teams | 31 varsity teams |
| Stadium | Alumni Stadium |
| Arena | Conte Forum |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Nickname | Eagles |
| Colors | Maroon and Gold |
| Homepage | bceagles.com |
The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. They compete in NCAA Division I-A as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports offered by the ACC. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete in Hockey East. (Skiing, fencing, and sailing are also non-ACC.) Boston College is one of only 13 universities in the country offering NCAA division I-A football, division I men's and women's basketball, and division I hockey.
The BC mascot is Baldwin the Eagle, an American bald eagle whose name is derived from the bald head of the eagle and the word 'win.' The school colors are maroon and gold. The fight song, "For Boston," was composed by T.J. Hurley, Class of 1885.
Principal athletic facilities include Alumni Stadium (capacity: 44,500), Conte Forum (8,606), Kelley Rink (7,884), Shea Field, the Newton Soccer Complex and the Flynn Recreation Complex. The Yawkey Athletics Center opened in the spring of 2005, and the Newton Campus Field Hockey Complex was completed that fall. BC students compete in 31 varsity sports, as well as a number of club and intramural teams. Boston College's Athletics program has been named to the College Sports Honor Roll as one of the nation's top 20 athletic programs by U.S. News and World Report (March 18, 2002).
Boston College athletes are among the most academically successful in the nation, according to the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR). In 2006 Boston College received Public Recognition Awards with 14 of its sports in the top 10 percent of the nation academically. The Eagles tied Notre Dame for the highest total of any Division I-A university. Other schools having 10 or more sports honored included Navy (12), Stanford (11), and Duke (11). Teams honored were football, men's fencing, men's outdoor track, men's skiing, women's rowing, women's cross country, women's fencing, women's field hockey, women's indoor track, women's outdoor track, women's skiing, women's swimming, women's soccer, women's tennis, and women's volleyball. Boston College's football program was one of only five Division I-A teams that were so honored. The other four were Auburn, Navy, Stanford, and Duke.
A founding member of the Big East Conference, the Eagles joined the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2005.
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[edit] Men's basketball
The Boston College men's basketball team has its origins in 1904, and the squad has played, through the 2005-06 season, 68 seasons of hoops. In 1904, a men's varsity team was sanctioned and on December 26 of that year BC played its first-ever game, losing 8-6 to Battery H of Navy, and won its first-ever game that season against Tufts, 23-17, in Medford. Basketball, not a popular sport at the turn of the 20th century, suffered through years of weak fan support and only lasted three initial seasons before being dropped. A brief revival in the early 1920s brought the men's team back, but it was dropped again following the 1924-25 season. Finally, following World War II when the sport began to really take off in the United States, the basketball team became permanent in the 1945-46 season.
Boston College has neither won a national title in basketball nor advanced as far as the Final Four, but has made its mark on the national scene several times with both positive and bad press. In 1963 BC hired Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy as head coach, and in his six years as coach the Eagles earned postseason berths in five of those years including a trip to the Elite Eight in 1967. Through the years Boston College has hired several other notable coaches including Chuck Daly, Dr. Tom Davis, Gary Williams and former Eagle, Jim O'Brien '71.
In one of the darkest stories in BC history, several members of the 1978-79 basketball team were accused of being involved in a point-shaving scandal that drew national attention due to the involvement of the infamous Mafia associate Henry Hill; one player, Rick Kuhn, was found guilty and served time in jail for his efforts in the fix.
Boston College basketball, however, would be forever changed as a charter member of the Big East conference, which formed in time for the 1979-80 season. With more national exposure and better competition — leading to improved and more expansive recruiting — BC had ensured itself of an opportunity to compete at the highest level of NCAA Division I basketball every year.
From the time the seven original Northeastern schools formed the Big East, the BC men's basketball team saw several highs: Advancing to the Elite Eight in the 1982 NCAA Tournament, winning the Big East Tournament in 1997 and 2001, four Big East Coach of the Year awards, three Big East Player of the Year awards and a memorable win over the No. 1-ranked Tar Heels in the 1994 NCAA tourney.
Among Boston College's biggest non-conference rivalies in basketball are Holy Cross and the University of Massachusetts. The Eagles and the Crusaders have met 109 times — with their first game played on January 9, 1906. The Cross owns a 57-52 all-time edge in the series with BC having won 15 of the last 16 games. First played in 1905 and held annually since 1995, BC's basketball rivalry with UMass is called the "Commonwealth Classic" and was played on several occasions at the TD Banknorth Garden in the 1990s. The Eagles are 22-17 against its cross-state rival. The Boston College men's basketball team have made 16 overall appearances in the NCAA tournament including three trips to the Elite Eight and have been to the NIT 10 times. Notable BC student-athletes who have gone onto a career in the NBA include: Michael Adams '85, John Bagley '83, Dana Barros '89, Troy Bell '03 Bill Curley '94, Howard Eisley '94, Jay Murphy '84 and Gerry Ward '63.
[edit] O'Brien returns to The Heights
On March 26, 1986, Jim O'Brien '71 came back to Boston College to coach the men's basketball team. Despite a bitter end to his tenure as head coach, O'Brien has been credited with resuscitating the BC basketball team, which — aside from some success in the early 80s — had not been a consistent NCAA tournament team since the 1960s. Although O'Brien did build a solid program, his timing was excellent: Boston College opened its new hockey and basketball arena, Conte Forum, in 1988, (fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities); the Big East had reached its zenith when O'Brien took the reigns with conference teams winning national championships in 1984 and 1985; and O'Brien and BC, at the time, were still feeling the positive effects of the Flutie Factor with Boston College athletics increasing in national exposure.
Boston College played its final season in the Roberts Center in the 1987-88 season and were invited to the NIT, advancing to the semi-finals before being knocked-off by regional rival UConn, 73-67. BC returned to the NIT in 1992 and 1993.
In 1994, the Eagles were blown out by Georgetown 81-58 in the first round of the Big East tournament. But, following its invitation to the NCAA's, the men's basketball team went on one of its most historic runs. Boston College downed Washington State in the opening round of the tourney. In the second round, BC had its memorable upset of defending national champion North Carolina, 75-72, pushing them to the Sweet Sixteen and, after a victory over Bobby Knight and Indiana, they went back to the Elite Eight where they fell to Florida, 74-66.
Despite all the media hype surrounding UMass during the 1995-96 season when the Minutemen were ranked No. 1 in the country for most of the season and advanced to the Final Four, the Eagles (albeit somewhat forgetably) also made it to the Big Dance in 1996. BC finished the year at 19-11, and bowed out in the second round after getting crushed by Georgia Tech 103-89.
Lead by All-Big East forward Danya Abrams and sophomore point guard James "Scoonie" Penn Boston College won the 1997 Big East Tournament with victories over Pitt, Georgetown and Villanova. For its Big East Tournament championship, BC received an automatic bid to The Dance and met Valparaiso. The Eagles knocked off its first-round opponent 73-66, but fell in the second round to St. Joe's when the Hawks eked out an 81-77 win.
Controversy erupted after the 1997 season closed as Jim O'Brien and the Boston College administration sparred over academic grounds in recruiting athletes. O'Brien filed a law suit against BC on the grounds of breach of contract and slander. The case was settled out of court.[1] Following a bitter end to his tenure, the BC alumnus moved to Ohio State (and brought his star playmaker Scoonie Penn with him) where O'Brien took the Buckeyes to the Final Four in 1999. Unfotunately, his tenure at Ohio State also ended on bitter terms.
[edit] Skinner era begins
In 1997 former Rhode Island head coach and ABA star, Al Skinner came to The Heights to coach the men's team. Following three sub-.500 seasons, Skinner lead the Eagles to a Big East-best 27-5 mark in 2000-01 (setting a school record for wins in a season), the Big East tournament title and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. BC defeated Southern Utah in the openeing round of the tourney, but was upset by USC 74-71 in the second round. Skinner went on to win Big East Coach of the Year honors and star sophomore Troy Bell was named Big East Co-Player of the Year.
Since the inception of the Skinner era, Boston College has seen increased success on the basketball court and has garnered growing national media attention with six consecutive postseason tournament invitations including five to the NCAA tournament. Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo deserves mention as a factor in BC's success on the court as he has been instrumental in the basketball team's widening national exposure. In its first season in ACC, BC advanced to the finals of the league tournament losing by two points to Duke.
Some have argued Skinner's success is predicated on his ability to recruit student-athletes that other schools never bother to look at, so-called "diamonds in the rough." Bell, who grew up in Minneapolis, won two Big East Player of the Year awards and is currently the BC all-time leading scorer, fits that description in addition to Ryan Sidney, Jared Dudley, Sean Williams and All-American forward Craig Smith, a Los Angeles native, who was overlooked by most Pac-10 schools.
Through the end of the 2004-05 season, the men's team holds a winning record of .719 since the start of the 2000-01 season. On an interesting note, the Eagles have defeated the defending national champions in each of the last three seasons: Syracuse 57-54 (on 2004-03-11), UConn 75-70 (on 2005-01-05) and UNC 81-74 (on 2006-01-25 and 2006-03-11).
[edit] 20 straight to start: 2004-05 season
Though the 2000-01 season was a memorable one for BC and its fans as it re-vamped local interest in the Chestnut Hill men's hoops team, it paled to the national exposure and media attention the Eagles garnered in 2004-05. Starting the year unranked and without one vote in the coaches' poll, Boston College accomplished something no Big East team had done before: it started a season 20-0. In the 20 straight victories, the Eagles beat two ranked opponents and, when they reached the 20-0 mark, were one of only two teams to be undefeated at the time (Illinois was the other).
The team's first loss occurred at Notre Dame on February 8, 2005. Following its setback, BC beat unranked Rutgers and then No. 9 Syracuse on February 19, vaulting them in the polls to No. 3 in both the AP and coaches' polls — the highest any Boston College basketball team has even been ranked. Finishing the regular season with a 24-3 mark, West Virginia bounced BC from the Big East tournament, 78-72, in the second round after the Eagles had drawn a bye in in the first due to being the No. 1 overall seed with the league's best record (13-3). Boston College earned an invitation to the 2005 NCAA tournament and received a No. 4 seed, with an opening-round game against Penn. The Eagles took care of the Quakers with an 85-65 thrashing and then took on Milwaukee, who had upset Alabama. UWM pulled another upset with an 83-75 win over Boston College and sent the Eagles home still unable to get back to the Sweet Sixteen. BC has not advanced past the second round since 1994.
[edit] Back to the Sweet Sixteen: 2005-06 season
The men's basketball team played its way to a school-record 28 wins and back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in 12 years. Boston College also established itself in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 11 league wins in its first year in the conference, and advanced to the league tournament title game against Duke following wins over Maryland and North Carolina. BC would finish the season ranked No. 7 in the AP poll, which tallies its final poll before the NCAA tournament begins.
Coming into 2005-06, the offseason produced some change to the team as center Nate Doornekamp and sixth man Jermaine Watson graduated. Doornekamp, though not a prolific scorer, was a leader and, with his 7 feet of height, could see the court well and pass the ball with good precision. Watson averaged 9.6 points-per-game off the bench and was a clutch free throw shooter, averaging 83 percent to lead the team.
An offseason incident concerning drug use in May involving center Sean Williams lead to his suspension for the first semester from BC campus and from the team, and his playing status for the entire season was in doubt up until a court hearing in December. Williams set the BC single-season record for blocked shots in 2004-05 with 63. Although not allowed back to Chestnut Hill until the end of the first semester and contingent upon a court hearing, Williams took courses and worked out at the University of Houston in the fall of 2005. He was allowed to return after a Boston judge decided he had fulfilled his commitment and the school gave their approval because he met his academic requirements. Also in trouble was sophomore forward Akida McLain who was suspended from the team for the first seven games of the year for an off-court incident.
Prior to the season, senior forward Craig Smith was voted a first-team All-American, the first BC player to be so honored, and named to the All-ACC preseason team — before even playing one game in the league. Boston College entered its first season in the ACC ranked No. 11 in both major polls and started the year 6-0 and reached as high as No. 6 on December 5. On December 11 McLain was reinstated and on December 22 Williams returned to the team and registered two blocks in his first game back against Harvard.
After starting ACC play with three straight losses (Maryland, Georgia Tech, NC State), senior point guard Louis Hinnant called a players-only meeting which helped to inspire the team to bounce back from a poor conference start. The Eagles rebounded to win four consecutive league wins — winning its first ACC game against Florida State on January 14. After its four straight league wins, BC dropped one to No. 3-ranked Duke on February 1.
Boston College then beat Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University both on the road, followed by a home win over Clemson. On February 13, BC downed Stony Brook to reach the 20-win mark for the fifth time in six years. On February 25, Skinner earned his 169th Boston College win when the Eagles downed NC State 74-72 in double overtime, making the former ABA star the winningest coach in BC history. The Eagles finished the 2005-06 regular season with a 24-6 record and ended conference play at 11-5.
Boston College trounced Maryland (after receiving a bye) in the second round of the ACC tournament on March 10, 80-66, and then edged No. 10 North Carolina 85-82 the next afternoon to advance to the ACC championship game in its first year in the league. No. 3 Duke squeaked out a 78-76 win in a thrilling ACC championship game on March 12.
BC earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament playing in the Minneapolis bracket, and defeated Pacific on March 16 in a thrilling 88-76 double-OT game. The Eagles trailed by six points with just over two minutes remaining in the initial overtime. Following key three pointers by Dudley and Hinnant, BC went to Smith with only seconds remaining and, after being fouled, the All-ACC forward hit two free throws with four seconds left to tie the game at 74-74. Forcing a second overtime, BC went on a 14-2 run in the second OT to win the game. Against 12th-seeded Montana, Boston College won 69-56, advancing to the regional semi-finals for the first time since 1994.
In its Sweet Sixteen matchup against Villanova, BC lost a heartbreaker, 60-59, in overtime. The Eagles lead by as many as 14 points in the first half and controlled much of the initial 35 minutes of the game. But the Wildcats captured their first lead with 2:18 remaining in the second half when Randy Foye hit two free throws to give 'Nova a 49-48 lead, and his layup expanded it to 51-48. With 28 seconds left Dudley dropped a 3-pointer to tie the score.
In an exciting overtime session, a Smith basket gave BC a 59-58 lead. With only seconds remaining, Wildcat forward Will Sheridan slipped past his defender and scored the winning two points on a goaltending call against Sean Willians with 2.3 seconds left. Hinnant's desperation 3 missed at the buzzer -- as Nova moved on to the Elite Eight.
[edit] Women's basketball
The Boston College woman's basketball team played its first game January 9, 1973, and lost to Eastern Nazarene 42-35. In its next game BC downed Jackson, 52-30, to win its first game in the program's history. The Eagles finished their first season 4-6 with wins over Mount Ida, Stonehill and Radcliffe. In her second season as head coach, Maureen Enos lead BC to a 9-4 record for the team's first-ever winning record.
Margo Plotzke took over in time for the 1980 season and she would finish her 14-season career on The Heights with only five losing seasons and a 177 wins.
In 1982 the women's team joined the Big East, finishing the season with a then-BC record 17 wins, but going only 3-7 in the conference. In the Big East tourney Boston College beat UConn 69-57, but bowed out after a loss to Providence, 56-38. In 1984-85 BC went 19-9 — its best season to that date — but found itself on the short end of a loss to Vilanova in the league tournament, ending its season.
[edit] Cathy Inglese arrives
In 1993 Cathy Inglese was named head coach of the basketball team and, after several years of rebuilding, turned the team into a perennial NCAA tournament team. Since the 1998-99 season, BC has been invited to the NCAA tournament six times, won the 2004 Big East title and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen twice — in 2003 and 2004.
In the 1998-99 season Inglese lead the Eagles to its first ever NCAA tournament appearance, a 22-8 overall record and the Eagles went 12-6 in the Big East. In its first-ever NCAA tourney game, BC beat Ohio State and then ran into Pat Summitt and Tennessee and lost in the second round.
The next season was even better for the Eagles as they won 26 total games, but again found themselves eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament when Virginia edged them out, 74-70. A season plagued by injuries marred the 2000-01 team which finished at 14-15 and on the outside looking into The Dance. In 2001-02, BC — who finished the season ranked 21st — received another invitation to the NCAA Tournament but were ousted in the first round this time when Mississippi State took care of the women's team 65-59.
[edit] Sweet Sixteen years
Coach Inglese lead Boston College to back-to-back appearances in the Sweet Sixteen in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. BC finished the 2003 season ranked No. 25 and entered the NCAA tourney with a 20-9 record and, as a No. 5 seed, squeaked by Old Dominion 73-72 in the first round, then won another thriller on an Amber Jacobs jumper, which blounced around the rim, and fell in with 2.5 seconds remaining — giving the Eagles an 86-85 overtime win over Vanderbilt. Boston College was then steamrolled by No. 1 UConn as Diana Taurasi and Co. bounced BC 70-49.
In 2004 the women's team exacted some postseason revenge when BC upset the University of Connecticut in the Big East Tournament, 73-70, in the semi-finals. Boston College, who defeated Syracuse and Miami en route to its March 8 win over the Huskies, downed Rutgers in the finals to capture the Big East Tournament title — becoming the first Big East team to win four games to take the tournament crown. For its tournament title, BC finished the year ranked No. 18 and headed into the NCAA's as a No. 3 seed. The Eagles downed Eastern Michigan 58-56 in the first round; BC had an easier time in the second round, routing Ohio State 63-48 to move onto its second Sweet Sixteen in as many years. The No. 7-seeded University of Minnesota scored a mild upset over the Eagles with a 76-63 win and eliminated BC from the tournament.
[edit] 2004-05 season
In its final year in the Big East the Boston College women's team finished the year at 20-10 with another trip to the NCAA's. In the regular season, BC finished a respectable 10-6 in conference play, but got bounced in its only game in the league tourney, losing 41-37 to Villanova. Then BC beat the University of Houston 65-43 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but with a tough draw, were edged out by Duke 70-65.
[edit] 2005-06 season
Boston College entered the 2005-06 season as a participant of the Preseason NIT. Following a 51-44 win over Drexel and a 62-51 victory over Richmond, BC ran into and were stuffed by former Big East rival UConn 60-46 in the semifinal round. The women rebounded with 41-point win over Vermont, topping the Catamounts 79-38. Boston College entered league play with a 12-2 record and ranked no. 19 in the country, including a stunning win against then top-10 ranked Stanford University. In BC's first-ever ACC game, the women lost a heart-breaking overtime game to Maryland 67-64. After a rough 0-4 start to ACC play, the Eagles bounced back to win seven straight games, including wins in six consecutive conference games. BC won its first-ever ACC game as a league member on January 26 when it downed Virginia 57-43. The Eagles then won at NC State on January 30, 75-66.
The winning streak came to an end when BC was confronted with two straight games against top-5 opponents. On February 16, No. 4 Maryland downed the Eagles 86-59; then the BC women fell again, losing to the No. 2 team in the country when UNC dropped Boston College on Tobacco Road, 69-62. The regular season ended on a sour note for Boston College as NC State and Florida State handed BC two more losses on February 24 and February 26 respectively, closing the regular season with four straight losses for the Eagles. The Boston College women stand at 19-11 overall (6-8 ACC) and are No. 25 in the coaches' poll as of March 7. BC senior forward Brooke Queenan was named All-ACC Second Team. Queenan led the Eagles with 14.8 points- and 8.0 rebounds-per-game for BC in the regular season.
Boston College lost its first-round game in its first-ever ACC tournament as the No. 8 seed, falling to Virginia 57-54 on March 2. BC earned an at-large bid in the NCAA field. The Eagles received a No. 8 seed beat Notre Dame 78-61 following 17 days off between games. BC advanced to the field of 32 to face No. 1 seeded Ohio State University, a team which had won twenty straight games coming in. The underdog Eagles stunned the Buckeyes 79-69 largely behind the performance of BC guard Kindyll Dorsey, who scored a school NCAA tournament record six 3-pointers and 24 points overall. BC then lost a heartbreaker to the No. 5 seeded Utah Utes in the Sweet Sixteen 57-54, missing three potential game-tying shots in the last twenty seconds.
After the season, forward Brooke Queenan was drafted by the New York Liberty of the WNBA in the second round, making her the third WNBA draft pick in BC history after Amber Jacobs and Cal Bouchard. Despite losing Queenan, All-ACC defensive teamer Aja Parham, and steady forward Lisa Macchia, BC headed into the offseason with a strong core of returning players including returning captain and point guard Sarah Marshall, senior guard Kindyll Dorsey, and senior center Kathrin Ress, as well as star incoming freshman, American Idol finalist and McDonald's All-American Ayla Brown.
[edit] Football
Football at Boston College can be traced to the 1884 founding of the "Boston College Athletic Club" and the first series of interclass games held on the James Street Fields in Boston's South End. In 1892, President Edward Devit, SJ, grudgingly agreed to the requests of two undergraduates, Joseph F. O'Connell of the class of 1893 and Joseph Drum of the class of 1894, to start a varsity football team. Drum would become the first head coach, albeit an unpaid position and O'Connell was captain. On October 26, 1893, BC played its first official game against the St. John's Literary Institute of Cambridge followed by its first intercollegiate game against MIT. BC won the first game 4-0, but lost 6-0 to MIT. Two of the original team's alumni had particularly significant careers: Lineman John Douglass became the first BC graduate to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and running back James Carlin became president of Holy Cross, a nearby Jesuit college in Worcester, Massachusetts.
In addition to success on the gridiron, Boston College football has achieved success in the classroom. In 2006, Eagle football had an NCAA APR score of 982, placing them in the 90th-100th percentile nationally. The football team's APR was the highest of any school that finished the 2005 season ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll.
[edit] Holy Cross rivalry
In 1896, Boston College and Holy Cross began what was one of the most storied rivalries in college football.[citation needed] For much of the early to mid 20th century, BC and The Cross drew some of New England's largest sports crowds. In 1913, BC began playing home games at Alumni Field. To accommodate larger crowds, the Holy Cross game was routinely held at larger venues off campus, with the 1916 matchup taking place at the newly constructed Fenway Park. A record 54,000 attended the 1922 game at Braves Field, home of the Boston Braves baseball team. In 1986 Holy Cross changed the direction of its football program, joining the Division 1-AA Patriot League, and terminated the series. BC had won 17 of the last 20 games.
[edit] Disputed National championship
The 1940 season could arguably be called the greatest year in the history of Boston College football. BC's undefeated (11-0) team captured the 1941 Sugar Bowl championship and the school claims on its Web site to have won a share of the national title, even though the NCAA does not consider BC one of its national champions for this year. Five members of that storied team have been inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame: end Eugene Goodreault (50); guard George Kerr (47); center Chet Gladchuk, Sr. (45); fullback Michael Holovak (12); and halfback Charles O’Rourke (13). It included a 19-18 victory over Georgetown before 41,700 fans at sold-out Fenway Park, that was called one of the greatest games ever by famed sportswriter Grantland Rice. Going into the game, the Hoyas had twenty-two consecutive victories spanning three seasons. BC trailed until the third quarter, when a 43 yard touchdown pass from Charlie O'Rourke to Monk Maznicki put the Eagles ahead. With just seconds remaining, BC had the ball on their own nine, fourth down and 18 to go. Georgetown set up to return the Eagles’ punt. Instead of punting, O’Rourke scrambled in his own end zone for 45 seconds then took a safety. BC used the free kick to boot the ball far downfield and dashed the Hoyas' three-season unbeaten record. Legendary Coach Frank Leahy took his undefeated Eagles on to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans where they beat Tennessee. BC claims it won the national title in a three-way tie with Stanford and Minnesota. The NCAA does not recognize Boston College as a national champion in that year, however. It would turn out to be Coach Leahy’s final year with the Eagles, before he accepted an offer to coach at his alma mater, Notre Dame.
[edit] The Flutie years
The early 1980s are sometimes referred to as "The Flutie Era", and are often credited with putting BC football firmly into the big time. Quarterback Doug Flutie played for Boston College from 1981 to 1984, and won the Heisman Trophy in his senior year. He gained national attention on November 23, 1984, when he led the Eagles to victory in a high-scoring, back-and-forth game against incumbent national champion Miami Hurricanes (led by star QB Bernie Kosar). The game was nationally televised on CBS the day after Thanksgiving, and had a huge audience. Miami staged a dramatic drive to take the lead, 45-41, in the closing minute of the game. Boston College then took possession at their own 22-yard line with 28 seconds to go. After two passes moved the ball another 30 yards, only six seconds remained on the clock. On the last play of the game, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught in the end zone by his roommate, Gerard Phelan, giving BC a 47-45 win. A persistent urban legend holds that this play essentially clinched the Heisman Trophy for Flutie; in fact, the Heisman voting was already complete by the day of the game. It has been called "the greatest moment in college football."[2]
[edit] "The Holy War"
In recent years, Notre Dame has become one of BC's primary football rivals. Today, ND is the only other Catholic university playing NCAA Division I-A football. The match up was dubbed the "Holy War" in 1975, and has acquired a number of other nicknames over the years. The series produced one of the top moments in college football history[3] when in 1993, David Gordon kicked a wobbly 41-yard field goal as time expired to beat top-ranked and undefeated Notre Dame 41-39, ending Irish hopes for a national championship. During the 2002 matchup in South Bend, Indiana, Notre Dame came into the game undefeated at 8-0, wearing their celebrated green jerseys (which since 1981 had only been worn against archrival USC or in bowl games). BC won the game 14-7, putting an end -- again -- to Notre Dame's dreams of an undefeated season. The series was played annually from 1992 to 2004 and is scheduled to resume in 2007, though its future after 2010 is uncertain.[4]
[edit] Memorable moments in the BC-ND rivalry
With their first meeting in 1975, the Irish and the Eagles have generated some memories in only 31 years. The teams had met consecutively from 1992 until 2004. Over the course of 17 games, here are some of the more memorable ones:
Freedom fight (1983-12-29): Meeting at the 1983 Liberty Bowl in Memphis Notre Dame and the Eagles engaged in a tight and taut contest — a harbinger of things to come. Despite Doug Flutie throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns, BC found itself on the short-end of a 19-18 loss. The Eagles were down 19-12 at halftime and, after a Flutie TD pass to Scott Gieselman in the third quarter and a missed extra-point, BC had an opportunity to win late in the game. On fourth down with 1:08 remaining, a Flutie pass fell incomplete for an Irish win.
Tough-luck losers (1993-11-20): The Eagles knocked off the No. 1 Irish in 1993 in South Bend on a last second, 41-yard David Gordon field goal kick — crushing any hopes of a Notre Dame national championship. Boston College held a 38-17 lead with 11:13 left in the game, but the Irish fought back. The Stadium rocked as the Irish completed a 21-point comeback. But in the end, Gordon kicked a knuckle ball field goal for the winning score. For BC, it was retribution for a 54-7 thrashing the previous year and its first-ever win over the Irish. For its effort, the Eagles made the November 29, 1993, Sports Illustrated cover.
Pouring it on (1994-10-08): Following its upset over the top-ranked team from South Bend, Boston College knocked off another top 10 Irish team — who stood at 4-1 coming in — with a 30-11 win at Alumni Stadium over then-No. 8 Notre Dame. Eagles running back Justice Smith rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
Off of my Cloud (1998-11-07): Although the Eagles stood at a paltry 3-5 coming in, BC fans dared hope their team could still knock off then-No. 13 ranked Irish. Down 31-20 with 9:23 left in the game, Eagles senior quarterback Scott Mutryn threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Anthony DiCosmo. After a failed two-point conversion, the BC defense prevented a Notre Dame score. The Eagle offense then marched all the way to the Irish 4-yard line with only seconds remaining on the clock. Running back Mike Cloud was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on the first three downs (though replays indicated he crossed the plain into the end zone), and finally ND safety Deke Cooper tackled Cloud in the back field on fourth down with six seconds left for a 31-26 final.
Bowl season is cancelled (1999-11-20): The Irish came into the game in a must-win situation in order to avoid its first bowl-ineligible season since 1986, while the Eagles entered on a three-game winning streak and had its best mark after 9 games since the 1993 campaign. The Eagles came out firing and withstood an early pair of touchdowns by Tony Fisher and Julius Jones, countering with touchdown passes by Tim Hasselbeck as the game was tied at 17 at the break. Hasselbeck would put the Eagles ahead for good with a 1 yard sneak in the third quarter and another touchdown toss early in the fourth. But the Irish showed no quit with their season on the line, as Jarious Jackson hit Fisher for a nine-yard score, but a missed extra-point by Jim Sanson changed the scenario, forcing the Irish to go for the two-point converison (which they failed) following Jones' 67-yard punt return score with 3:27 left after a three-and-out from BC. The Irish would get the ball back once more with 2:18 left on the clock, but on the second play of the drive, Jackson's pass was intercepted by Pedro Cirino, sealing the 31-29 victory and assuring the Irish of staying home for the holidays.
Back for more (2002-11-02): BC went to Notre Dame Stadium to face No. 4-ranked Notre Dame, who were clad in their green jerseys for the first time in three years and for the first time at home in 17 seasons, and the team from Chestnut Hill brought back some ghosts of 1993 to South Bend. The Irish got a bad break when replays indicated a sure TD was called out-of-bounds, but BC had been victimized by a bad call in 1998. Notre Dame fumbled eight times and back-up quarterback Pat Dillingham threw two interceptions. BC walked out with a 14-7 win, its first over a top-5 team since beating the No. 1 Irish in 1993 on the very same field.
Another kicker (2003-10-25): Notre Dame and BC staged another dramatic battle in 2003. As usual, the game came down to the final seconds. Holding a 24-6 lead, the Irish fought back in desperate need of a win to maintain some chance of a bowl bid. Notre Dame's Nate Schiccatano blocked a BC punt late in the game and Carlos Campbell ran it 25 yards for a touchdown with 3:34 left and a 25-24 Irish lead. On the ensuing Boston College possession, the Eagles marched down to the Irish 8-yard line where kicker Sandro Sciortino booted in a chip shot with 38 seconds remaining and a 27-25 BC win.
Break your heart (2004-10-23): Boston College and ND played on the afternoon of Game 1 of the 2004 World Series in which the Red Sox met the Cardinals. As the Red Sox would go on to shed their curse that year, Notre Dame's hex with regard to BC delivered more heartache for Irish fans. Trailing 20-7 at halftime, Boston College mounted a comeback against the Irish lead by quarterback Paul Peterson who threw for 383 yards on the day. With 54 seconds left, Peterson hit Tony Gonzalez for a touchdown and a 24-23 win. A missed extra-point by ND kicker DJ Fitzpatrick in the first half would account for the difference in the game. It was Notre Dame's fourth straight loss to BC and its fifth in the previous six meetings.
Notre Dame drops BC (2005-?) : Notre Dame, in an attempt to clear up scheduling in the future, decided to terminate the contract with Boston College after the 2010 season. Thus, only four more meetings from 2006 onwards are currently scheduled.
[edit] Gambling scandal
Boston College earned some negative press in 1996 when news broke that some football players had bet against BC in a bad loss October 26 to Syracuse. After the 45-17 beating by the Orange, word leaked out to Head Coach Dan Henning that several players may have bet against the team in the game, and the coach subsequently told the university administration. Following an investigation by the university and law enforcement officials, 13 players would be suspended from the team for the season for placing illegal bets — six permanently from the football program. As a result of the scandal and a mediocre 16-19-1 record as coach, Henning resigned at then end of the 1996 season.
[edit] Tom O'Brien era
In December 1996 BC hired a 1971 Navy graduate and the former Virginia offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien. O'Brien arrived at The Heights with plans to revive the program after the team had been tarnished in the wake of the scandal. With good recruiting skills and a strong coaching staff around him, notably offensive coordinator Dana Bible and defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani, O'Brien has turned the program into a consistent top-25 team. The team has also been helped by increased exposure on the national stage due to the move to the ACC and, more recently, improved facilities in the form of the Yawkey Center.
Following two mediocre seasons in 1997 (4-7) and 1998 (4-7), O'Brien's vision of a re-built football program began to take shape. In 1999, the Eagles finished the regular season 8-3 including a 31-29 win at Notre Dame Stadium on November 20. BC had earned itself its first bowl berth since being ensnarled in the 1996 gambling scandal. Despite the excitement of its first postseason game in five years, Boston College laid an egg at the Insight.com Bowl in Tucson, Arizona, getting squashed by the University of Colorado, 62-28. In 2000 BC finished the regular season at 6-5 with just enough wins to be bowl-eligible and found themselves in Honolulu for the Aloha Bowl where they downed Arizona State 31-17, giving O'Brien his first bowl victory as head coach.
The year 2001 saw Boston College end a 21-game losing streak to ranked opponents when, in the Music City Bowl, the Eagles beat No. 16 Georgia 20-16 to finish at 8-5. But the most memorable moment of the year came in another thrilling game against then-No. 1 Miami at Alumni Stadium. Trailing 12-7 BC stood at the Hurricanes 9-yard-line, poised to win with just over 20 seconds left in the contest, but a freak interception thrown by Eagles quarterback Brian St. Pierre cost BC the game. St. Pierre threw too low for BC receiver Ryan Read, and the pass ricocheted off a Miami defender's leg and fell into the hands of Ed Reed, who returned it 80 yards for a touchdown — preserving a win for the Hurricanes and keeping its hopes alive for a national championship, which they would eventually win. Despite the heartbreaking loss, the season had several highs including running back William Green rushing for 1,559 yards and being the top RB taken in the 2002 NFL Draft; eight wins for the first time since 1993; and the team finished the season ranked (No. 21) for the first time since 1994.
Over the next few years the team posted respectable win-loss records and continued to win bowl games. In 2002, BC went 9-4 and won the Motor City Bowl, in 2003 they were 8-5 with a victory in the San Francisco Bowl and finished 9-3 in 2004 with a win in the Continental Tire Bowl. The year 2004 would be the Eagles final campaign in the Big East, and it finished the season in a four-way tie atop the league — a year in which they closed the season ranked No. 21 in both major polls.
BC holds the active national record for consecutive bowl victories, having won a postseason bowl game in each of the past six years. BC footballers routinely rank at or near the top in Division 1-A for best graduation rate and were ranked sixth nationally in Student-Athlete GPA for 2004-05. As of June 2005, 20 Boston College football players were on NFL rosters. Among the more notable: Marc Colombo '02 (Cowboys), Doug Flutie '85 (Patriots), William Green '02 (Browns), Matt Hasselbeck '98 (Seahawks), Chris Hovan '00 (Bucs), Dan Koppen '03 (Patriots), Tom Nalen '94 (Broncos) and Damien Woody '99 (Lions).
Mathias Kiwanuka, BC defensive end who earned Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2004, was drafted by the New York Giants in the April 2006 NFL Draft. The Giants are coached by former BC Head Football Coach Tom Coughlin.
On December 6, 2006, O'Brien decided to leave the Eagles and replace Chuck Amato as head coach at NC State.
[edit] 2005 season
Boston College moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference in time for the 2005 season and the football team faced a new schedule of opponents. BC football earned its first ACC win at Clemson on September 24 and finished the year at 8-3 including a 5-3 conference record, tied for the Atlantic Division title with Florida State, and the Eagles were invited to the MPC Computers Bowl where they defeated Boise State on the Broncos' home turf. BC ended the 2005-06 campaign at No. 17 in the coaches' poll and at No. 18 in the AP poll. Boston College won nine games for the second straight year and the third time in four years, while the senior class tied the school record for most wins in a four-year period with 35 (1939-42).
- September 3 BC 20, BYU 3
- September 10 BC 44, Army 7
- September 17 Florida State 28, BC 17
- September 24 BC 16, Clemson 13
- October 1 BC 38, Ball State 0
- October 8 BC 28, Virginia 17
- October 15 BC 35, Wake Forest 30
- October 27 Virginia Tech 30, BC 10
- November 5 UNC 16, BC 14
- November 12 BC 30, NC State 10
- November 19 BC 31, Maryland 16
- December 28 BC 27, Boise State 21 (MPC Computers Bowl)
[edit] 2006 schedule
- August 31 BC 31, Central Michigan 24
- September 9 BC 34, Clemson 33 (2 OT)
- September 16 BC 30, BYU 23 (2 OT)
- September 23 NC State 17, BC 15
- September 30 BC 22, Maine 0
- October 12 BC 22, Virginia Tech 3
- October 21 BC 24, Florida State 19
- October 28 BC 41, Buffalo 0
- November 4 Wake Forest 21, BC 14
- November 11 BC 28, Duke University 7
- November 18 BC 38, Maryland 16
- November 23 Miami 17, BC 14
- December 30 Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. Navy, 1 p.m. ESPN
[edit] Football Coaches
| Years | Head Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1893 | Joseph Waters | 3-3-0 |
| 1894 | William Nagle | 1-6-0 |
| 1895 | Joseph Lawless | 2-4-2 |
| 1896 | Frank Carney | 5-3-0 |
| 1897-1899, 1901 | John Dunlop | 15-17-2 |
| 1902 | Arthur White | 0-7-1 |
| 1908 | Joe Reilly, Joe Kenney | 2-4-2 |
| 1909 | Charles McCarthy | 3-4-1 |
| 1910 | Jim Hart | 0-4-2 |
| 1911 | Joseph Courtney | 0-7-0 |
| 1912-1913 | William Joy | 6-7-2 |
| 1914-1915 | Stephen Mahoney | 8-8-0 |
| 1916-1917 | Charles Brickley | 12-4-0 |
| 1918 | Frank Morrissey | 5-2-0 |
| 1919-1926 | Frank Cavanaugh (College Hall of Fame Bio) | 48-14-5 |
| 1927 | D. Leo Daley | 4-4-0 |
| 1928-1934 | Joe McKenney | 44-18-3 |
| 1935 | Dinney McNamara / Harry Downes | 3-1-0 / 3-2-0 |
| 1936-1938 | Gil Dobie (College Hall of Fame Bio) | 16-6-5 |
| 1939-1940 | Frank Leahy (College Hall of Fame Bio) | 20-2-0 |
| 1941-1942 | Denny Myers | 35-27-4 |
| 1943-1945 | Moody Sarno | 11-7-1 |
| 1946-1950 | Denny Myers | 35-27-4 |
| 1951-1959 | Mike Holovak | 49-29-3 |
| 1960-1961 | Ernie Hefferle | 7-12-1 |
| 1962-1967 | Jim Miller | 34-24-0 |
| 1968-1977 | Joe Yukica | 68-37-0 |
| 1978-1980 | Ed Chlebek | 12-21-0 |
| 1981-1990 | Jack Bicknell | 59-55-1 |
| 1991-1993 | Tom Coughlin | 21-13-1 |
| 1994-1996 | Dan Henning | 16-19-1 |
| 1997-2006 | Tom O'Brien | 66-42-0 (through 2005 season) |
[edit] Postseason Bowl History
BC is a combined 11-6 in bowl game appearances and has the longest active winning bowl record in the nation with six straight victories.
| Year | Bowl Game | Score | Poll | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Cotton Bowl | Boston College | 3 | Clemson | 6 | Finished year No. 11 in AP Poll |
| 1940 | Sugar Bowl | Boston College | 19 | Tennessee | 13 | National Champions |
| 1942 | Orange Bowl | Boston College | 21 | Alabama | 37 | Finished year No. 8 in AP Poll |
| 1982 | Tangerine Bowl | Boston College | 26 | Auburn | 33 | unranked |
| 1983 | Liberty Bowl | Boston College | 18 | Notre Dame | 19 | Finished year No. 19 in AP Poll |
| 1984 | Cotton Bowl | Boston College | 45 | Houston | 28 | Finished year No. 5 in AP Poll |
| 1986 | Hall of Fame Bowl | Boston College | 27 | Georgia | 24 | Finished year No. 19 in AP Poll |
| 1992 | Hall of Fame Bowl | Boston College | 23 | Tennessee | 38 | Finished year No. 21 in AP Poll |
| 1993 | Carquest Bowl | Boston College | 31 | Virginia | 13 | Finished year No. 13 in AP Poll |
| 1994 | Aloha Bowl | Boston College | 12 | Kansas State | 7 | Finished year No. 23 in AP Poll |
| 1999 | Insight.com Bowl | Boston College | 28 | Colorado | 62 | unranked |
| 2000 | Aloha Bowl | Boston College | 31 | Arizona State | 17 | unranked |
| 2001 | Music City Bowl | Boston College | 20 | Georgia | 16 | Finished year No. 21 in AP Poll |
| 2002 | Motor City Bowl | Boston College | 51 | Toledo | 25 | unranked |
| 2003 | San Francisco Bowl | Boston College | 35 | Colorado State | 21 | unranked |
| 2004 | Continental Tire Bowl | Boston College | 37 | North Carolina | 24 | Finished year No. 21 in AP Poll |
| 2005 | MPC Computers Bowl | Boston College | 27 | Boise State | 21 | Finished year No. 18 in AP Poll |
Note: The year indicates the season, as some bowl games are played in early January of the following calendar year.
[edit] Men's hockey
BC's men's ice hockey team has long been considered one of the best programs in the nation. Three BC head coaches rank among the winningest coaches in NCAA history, including Len Ceglarski and the legendary John "Snooks" Kelley, after whom BC's rink is named. With over 700 wins, Jerry York, BC '67, is the winningest active coach in the NCAA. Under his leadership, BC won a national championship in 2001. In 2004 BC won the coveted Beanpot, an annual tournament between Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University. The series between BC and Boston University is known as the Green Line Rivalry or the Battle of Commonwealth Ave, since the two schools share both the street and its trolley line.
Recent BC alumni who have gone on to play in the NHL include Brian Gionta, Chuck Kobasew, Patrick Eaves, Marty Reasoner, Brooks Orpik, Bill Guerin, and Brian Leetch.
Boston College has won two national championships in hockey, in 1949 and 2001. The 2001 championship run was capped by a thrilling overtime goal by Kris Kolanos over the University of North Dakota, 3-2 OT.
BC won the postseason tournament in Hockey East in 2005, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1990, 1987, and the ECAC postseason tournament in 1978 and 1965.
The hockey team won the Hockey East regular season crown in 2005, 2003, 2001, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1987, 1986, 1985, and the ECAC title in 1980.
BC has won the Beanpot 13 times: 2004, 2001, 1994, 1983, 1976, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1961, 1959, 1957, 1956, and 1954.
Boston College players have twice won the Hobey Baker Award, which honors college hockey's top player. David Emma won the award in 1991, and Mike Mottau won it in 2000.
Boston college played the Wisconson Badgers for the National Champtionship in 2006, losing 2-1.
[edit] Move to the ACC
On July 1, 2005, Boston College moved from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
In 2003 the ACC announced plans to expand from nine teams to twelve. Miami, Syracuse, and Boston College were rumored to be the three schools under consideration, and all three met with officials from the ACC regarding membership. It was later revealed that Miami had been dissatisfied with the Big East and its leadership since a formal letter of complaint was issued by them to Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese several years prior in 1999. Their issues went unresolved, leading to Miami's interest in the ACC - a league who had been pursuing the college football superpower since the mid-1990s, at the request of neighboring football schools Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, representing UConn (whose membership in Big East Football was then pending) led the "remaining" football schools (Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia) in the filing of two lawsuits. One suit named the ACC, and the other named Miami and Boston College, accusing them of conspiring to weaken the Big East. Syracuse was not named as a defendant in part because they never made public comments about the ongoing situation.
In an unexpected turn, due in large measure to political pressure applied by Governor Mark Warner of Virginia, the ACC replaced Syracuse with Virginia Tech in its expansion vote. Things became even more surprising when, reached by phone at a conference in Switzerland, then-N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox cast a shocking last-minute "no" vote against Boston College. As a result, the ACC extended invitations only to Miami and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech immediately accepted the invitation and filed court papers to get themselves out of the awkward position of suing their new conference. The remaining four plaintiffs removed Boston College from the list of defendants and asked both BC and Syracuse to join their suit. Boston College and Syracuse declined.
The Big East presidents and athletic directors met in summer 2003 to discuss replacing the departed members and establishing a process by which members would exit the conference in the future. The remaining members of the conference moved towards establishing a $5 million exit fee and 27 month waiting period for any other schools who wished to leave in the future. At a Big East meeting in Newark on October 1, conference presidents asked BC president Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., about rumors surrounding the Eagles' intentions. Fr. Leahy conceded that the Eagles might indeed be leaving the conference.[5] It has been suggested that BC might have remained if the Big East had spun out its non-football schools and reconfigured as an eight- or nine-team league. The Big East considered extending invitations to Penn State and Notre Dame, however neither school showed interest in joining the conference.[6] Several models for a new conference were discussed; however it was eventually decided that the football schools would explore separating from the basketball-only schools and establish an 8-team all-sports conference. It was very quickly realized that this scenario would not be feasible due to the fact that the new conference would lose its automatic NCAA basketball tournament berth and possibly its BCS bid because the football schools had not been together long enough to satisfy certain NCAA rules. It was then decided that for the time being, the conference would add additional football and basketball schools and continue in its bifurcated structure until such time as the football schools could establish their own conference. Unhappy with this decision, the administration of Boston College once again entertained overtures from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Speculation that Chancellor Foxe, a Notre Dame trustee, cast her vote against BC so that the ACC might consider extending membership to Notre Dame was fueled by press accounts reporting that a bid to the Fighting Irish was imminent. But in October 2003, the ACC voted unanimously to invite Boston College to become their twelfth member. When BC accepted, they were returned to the lawsuit still pending against Miami by several Big East schools. In response, Boston College petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts for a declaratory judgment to avoid paying the increased Big East "exit fee" that had been voted for but not yet amended to the Big East's constitution. Boston College won both decisions, but the Big East appealed. A secret settlement reported to be worth $5 million was reached in May 2005, and as part of the settlement the ACC agreed to play a number of football games each year against Big East teams.[7] However, this large settlement was offset by the cumulative legal fees incurred by the Big East in pursuing the litigation. [8] Boston College joined the ACC in 2005, and was exempted from having to play football against their former conference colleagues who had been party to the lawsuit. Boston College officials have stated that the university will not schedule games against any of their former Big East Football colleagues with the exception of Syracuse. An eight-year deal to play Syracuse in football starting in 2010 has been signed, and a four-year deal to play Providence College in basketball begins in the 2006-7 school year. [9]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v6/my22/leahy.html
- ^ "College football's best of the last 20 years." USA Today. November 19, 2002. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2002-11-19-memorable-moments_x.htm
- ^ ibid.
- ^ The rivalry is scheduled to resume in 2007 under a contract that ran through 2013. However, the series may be a victim of acrimony stemming from BC's move to the Atlantic Coast Conference. On November 2, 2005, Notre Dame announced that because the Irish have agreed to play three Big East Conference teams each season, they will stop playing Boston College following the 2010 season. Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said the conference made the request after Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech withdrew from the Big East to join the ACC. Notre Dame senior associate athletic director John Heisler said the Irish simply don't have room for Boston College — the only other Catholic university playing Division I football — on their schedule after adding the three Big East opponents. Heisler said that had the Eagles stayed in the Big East, they would have been one of those three. “They made a business decision to go to the ACC,” Heisler said. Notre Dame has a unique and unusual relationship with the Big East Conference, in which it is a member institution but its celebrated football program remains independent and has a separate television contract with NBC.
- ^ "BC's bumpy landing - Imminent ACC entry ends turbulent flight" by Mark Blaudschun, Boston Globe, June 3, 2005 http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2005/06/30/bcs_bumpy_landing/?page=1
- ^ "Big East considered adding Penn State, Notre Dame" by Rob Biertempfel, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Friday, February 25, 2005 http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/college/s_307414.html
- ^ "Big East lawsuit settlement benefits Pitt, WVU - Attractive games, money fallout from ACC suit" by Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Thursday, May 05, 2005 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05125/499386.stm
- ^ "Legal fees in Big East lawsuit top $2 million" by Mickey Furfari, Charleston Daily Post, Thursday, June 16, 2006
- ^ PC and BC still find each other attractive, by Kevin McNamara, Providence Journal http://www.projo.com/pc/content/projo_20060919_19pcbc.31ddc03.html
[edit] External links
- BC Athletics Home Page
- BC Men's Basketball Home Page
- BC Women's Basketball Home Page
- BC Football Home Page
- BC Men's Hockey Home Page
- BC Women's Hockey Home Page
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| Hockey East |
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| Men's Division: Boston College • Boston University • Maine • Massachusetts • UMass Lowell • Merrimack • New Hampshire • Northeastern • Providence • Vermont Women's Division: Boston College • Boston University • UConn • Maine • New Hampshire • Northeastern • Providence • Vermont |
