Boston College Eagles
From Hoopedia
Boston College athletic teams are called the Eagles. They compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The BC mascot is an American bald eagle named Baldwin, 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.
Basketball games are played at the Silvio O. Conte Forum, usually known as the Conte Forum. It is an 8,606-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Conte Forum is named for former United States congressman Silvio O. Conte, an alumnus of both Boston College and Boston College Law School.
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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 the United States Navy, and won its first-ever game that season against Tufts, 23-17, in Medford, Massachusetts. 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 No. 1-ranked North Carolina in the 1994 NCAA tourney.
Among Boston College's biggest non-conference rivalries 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 what is now known as 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. BC has produced 4 conference players of the year: John Bagley '83, was the Big East Player of the Year in 1980-1981, Troy Bell '03 was co-Big East Player of the Year in 2000-2001, and won the title outright in 2002-2003, and Jared Dudley '07 was the ACC Player of the Year in 2006-2007. 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, Gerry Ward '63, and Craig Smith '05.
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 forgettably) 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. 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. Unfortunately, his tenure at Ohio State also ended on bitter terms.
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 opening 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, Minnesota, 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, Sean Marshall 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).
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 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 Wisconsin-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 had not advanced past the second round since 1994.
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 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. It was later learned that Smith played the entire overtime period with a broken hand. 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.
Women's Basketball
The Boston College women'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 {{Villanova Wildcats|Villanova]] in the league tournament, ending its season.
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.
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 bounced 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 & 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.
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.
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.
