Boston College teams are called The Eagles. The school colors are maroon and gold. The fight song, "For Boston!," was composed by T.J. Hurley,
Class of 1885. Principle 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 is scheduled to open in March of
2005. BC students compete in 33 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).
A founding member of the Big East athletic conference, the Eagles will move to
the Atlantic_Coast_Conference on July 1, 2005.
Basketball
Though not a traditional powerhouse in basketball, Boston College has seen increasing success on the court and garnered
growing national media attention in recent years. The men's team holds a winning record of over 70% in the 21st Century, has gone on to post-season tournament play in 4 of the past 5
seasons, and won the 2001 Big East championship. The women's team won the 2004 Big
East championship and has played in the NCAA tournament in 6 of the past 8 seasons. The 2004-2005 campaign has been
particularly notable for the men's team, with a school- and Big East-record breaking 20-0 start and the highest national ranking
in school history.
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. O'Connell was
captain. On October 26, 1893, BC played its first official game against the St. John's Literary Institue 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 1896, Boston College and Holy Cross began
what would become one of the most storied rivalries in college football. For much of the 20th century, BC-HC was simply known as
"The Rivalry" and drew some of New
England's largest sports crowds. In 1913, BC began playing home games at Alumni Field. To accomodate 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. The series was terminated by Holy Cross in 1986, after BC had won 17 of the last 20 games. BC
football feats over the past century have included 16 bowl appearences, one National Championship and Doug Flutie's legendary
"Hail Mary" Pass, which helped earn him the Heisman Trophy in 1984.Today
Boston College's football team is consistently ranked in the nation's top 25, finishing the 2004-2005
season at #21. BC holds the national record in consecutive bowl appearances and has won a
postseason bowl game in each of the past five years, including a win over the University of North Carolina in the 2005 Continental Tire Bowl. BC footballers routinely rank #1 in the country for best graduation rate and
were ranked 6th nationally in Student-Athlete GPA for 2004-05. The Eagles finished the 2004 season on top of the Big East, their last season in the conference.
Boston College postseason bowl history
- 1940 Cotton Bowl - Clemson 6, Boston College 3
- 1941 Sugar Bowl - Boston College 19, Tennessee 13 National
Champions
- 1943 Orange Bowl - Alabama 37, Boston College 21
- 1982 Tangerine Bowl - Auburn 33, Boston College 26
- 1983 Liberty Bowl - Notre Dame 19, Boston College 18
- 1985 Cotton Bowl - Boston College 45, Houston 28
- 1986 Hall of Fame Bowl - Boston College 27, Georgia 24
- 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl- Tennessee 38, Boston College 23
- 1994 Carquest Bowl - Boston College 31, Virginia 13
- 1994 Aloha Bowl - Boston College 12, Kansas St. 7
- 1999 Insight.com Bowl - Colorado 62, Boston College 28
- 2000 Aloha Bowl - Boston College 31, Arizona St. 17
- 2001 Music City Bowl - Boston College 20, Georgia 16
- 2002 Motor City Bowl - Boston College 51, Toledo 25
- 2003 San Francisco Bowl - Boston College 35, Colorado State
21
- 2004 Continental Tire Bowl - Boston College 37,
University of North Carolina 24
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 has maintained a #1 ranking for most of the 2004-2005
season. In 2004 BC won the coveted Beanpot, an annual tournament between Boston
College, Boston University, Harvard University and Northeastern University. BC last won a national championship in hockey in
2001. Recent BC alumni who have gone on to play in the NHL include Brian Gionta and Brian Leetch.Boston College has won national championships in hockey in 2001 and 1949.BC won the regular season tournament in Hockey East in 2001, 1999, 1998,
1990, 1987, and the ECAC regular season tournament
in 1978 and 1965.The hockey team won the Hockey East regular season crown in 2004, 2003,
2001, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1987, 1986, 1985, and the ECAC title in 1980.BC has won the Beanpot 13 times, second only to BU. They won in in 2004, 2001, 1983, 1976, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1961, 1959, 1957, 1956, and 1954.