Boston College Eagles

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Boston College (BC) is a private research university located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, in the New England region of the United States. Its historic campus, one of the earliest examples of Collegiate Gothic architecture in North America, is set on a hilltop six miles west of downtown Boston. Although chartered as a university by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in eighteen sixty three, Boston College's name reflects its early history as a liberal arts college and preparatory school in Boston's South End. It was the first institution of higher education established in the city, though it later outgrew its urban location and moved to Chestnut Hill on the city's western edge. Boston College is one of the oldest and largest Jesuit universities in the United States and is home to one of the world's most prominent Catholic theological and philosophical faculties.

Boston College athletic teams are called the Eagles. 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 thirteen 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 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.

In hockey and less famed baseball, Boston College participates in the annual Beanpot which is a tournament that takes place at Fenway Park and the TD Banknorth Garden. Boston College participates in this tournament along with three other major sports colleges in Boston. They are Northeastern University Huskies, Harvard University Crimson, and Boston College's hockey rival Boston University Terriers. BC is 28 time finalists and thirteen time winners of the hockey tournament winning their last championship in 2004. The Baseball Tournament much less known was first played in 1990 and out of seventeen Beanpots, Boston College has won eight; last winning in 2006.

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. BC students compete in 31 varsity sports[4] as well as a number of club and intramural teams. On March 18, 2002, Boston College's Athletics program was named to the College Sports Honor Roll as one of the nation's top 20 athletic programs by U.S. News and World Report.[37]

Although a founding member of the Big East Conference, the Eagles left the Big East and joined the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2005.

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 fourteen of its sports in the top 10% of the nation academically. The Eagles tied Notre Dame for the highest total of any Division I-A university. Other schools having ten 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.

In recent times, Boston College Athletics have achieved success. The Football Team won the Meineke Car Care Bowl over the United States Naval Academy. The women's basketball team remained competitive in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. The men's basketball team was one of the final 32 teams remaining in the NCAA Division 1A Basketball Tournament losing in a good effort to Georgetown.

Boston College's three most famous football victories came on the final play of the game. On the day after Thanksgiving, November 23, 1984, before a national audience on CBS, Doug Flutie became a legend when his 48 yard Hail Mary found its way into the arms of Gerard Phelan for a 47-45 victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl. This was also the year Flutie won the Heisman, making it the only ever for the Eagles. (See also Flutie effect). Nine years later, almost to the day (November 20, 1993), the Eagles went into South Bend and defeated top-ranked Notre Dame 41-39 on a 41 yard field goal by David Gordon as time expired. An additional nine years later BC would accomplish this again taking down second-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend with a 14-7 victory ruining their perfect season. A win would have completed Notre Dame's season at 11-0 with a berth in the national championship game. The BC-Notre Dame rivalry will be rekindled in 2007 when the Eagles travel to South Bend on October 13, 2007.[38] On November 16, 1940, BC's Frank Leahy-coached championship team took a win from two-season undefeated Georgetown in the final seconds in a game Grantland Rice later called "the greatest football game ever played."[citation needed]

One of Boston College's alumni holds a special place in the NFL record-books. Mike Woicik, a former history major of Boston College[39] holds the record for most Super Bowl rings. Having gained three with the New England Patriots and three with the Dallas Cowboys, Woicik is a great example of the excellent and distinguished alumni produced by BC.