Introducing the ACC: Boston College Eagles

Doug Flutie threw a miracle last-second TD pass to beat Miami and perhaps clinch the 1984 Heisman Trophy

Doug Flutie / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

After more than a century as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, Cal has moved into the Atlantic Coast Conference. To introduce Cal fans to the Bears’ new conference rivals, we will profile each of the other ACC schools.  Today: Boston College:

BOSTON COLLEGE

NICKNAME: Eagles

MASCOT: Baldwin the Eagle

LOCATION: Chestnut Hill, MA (pop. 9,737)

MILES FROM BERKELEY: 3,083 miles

MAJOR AIRPORT: Boston Logan International Airport

YEAR FOUNDED: 1863. The campus was originally located in Boston’s South End, “a small streetcar college.” When the college outgrew the location, the school purchased 31 acres of farmland in Chestnut Hill, breaking ground for the new campus in 1909.

ENROLLMENT: 15,100

TUITION: $69,400

CAMPUS LANDMARK: Gargan Hall, the fourth-floor reading room in BC’s Bapst Library, built in 1928 and featuring stained-glass windows, is a favorite campus destination for students.

MOST POPULAR SPORTS BARS/RESTAURANTS: City Works; Buff’s Pub; O’Hara’s Food & Spirits

FAMOUS NON-ATHLETE ALUMNI: Actor Amy Poehler 1993; Chris O’Donnell 2017; former Secretary of State John Kerry (law degree) ’76; sportscaster Leslie Visser ’75; actor Leonard Nimoy (attended BC briefly); Tonight Show sidekick Ed McMahon (attended in 1940 & ’41); former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill ‘36; New York Giants’ president, CEO and co-owner John Mara ‘76

ATHLETIC WEBSITE: bceagles.com 

Thomas Castellanos / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

FOOTBALL

COACH: Bill O’Brien (1st season - was 15-9 in 2012 & '13 at Penn State and 52-48 in 7 seasons as an NFL head coach)

STADIUM: Alumni Stadium (44,500)

CAL ON THE SCHEDULE: Cal will play at Boston College on an undetermined date in 2025

2023 RECORD: 7-6, 3-5/tied for 9th place in ACC

BEST PLAYER ON THE 2024 TEAM: Junior quarterback Thomas Castellanos, in his first season last fall after transferring from UCF, broke BC’s single-season rushing record for a quarterback with 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns. He passed for 2,248 yards with 15 TDs but he also threw 14 interceptions, a total the Eagles hope will be lower this season.

MOST RECENT BOWL APPEARANCE: 2023 (Beat SMU 23-14 in the Fenway Bowl) 

BOWL HISTORY: 28 appearances (15-13)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: The 2004 Big East championship was BC’s first and only conference championship

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: None (although Boston College believes its 11-0 team that won the Sugar Bowl should have been declared the national champion)

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: Doug Flutie (Won the 1984 Heisman Trophy after passing for 3,454 yards with 27 touchdowns, including a miraculous Hail Mary completion to Gerard Phelan that beat Miami 47-45 on the final play of the game. Flutie played 21 seasons of pro football, the first year in the USFL, four in the NFL, then eight in the Canadian Football League (where he was a four-time MVP) before eight more seasons in the NFL. He was Comeback Player of the Year in 1998 when he returned to the NFL and threw 20 touchdown passes and made the Pro Bowl with Buffalo)

ALSO: Luke Kuechly, Matt Ryan, AJ Dillon, Mark Chmura

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Tom O’Brien (Was 75-45 in 10 seasons through 2006, including 6-1 in bowl games)

ALSO: Joseph Yucca, Frank Leahy

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL: 1-0 (BC beat Cal 21-15 at Chestnut Hill in the opening game of coach Joe Kapp final season of 1986)

John Bagley / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL

COACH: Earl Grant (49-53 in 3 seasons)

ARENA: Conte Forum (8,606)

2023-24 RECORD: 20-16, 8-12/11th place in ACC 

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Junior guard Dion Brown (BC lost its entire starting lineup to the transfer portal but Brown helps the Eagles reload after earning All-America East honors last season for UMBC when he averaged 19.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals)

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2009 (lost to USC 72-55 in first round)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Boston College won the Big East regular-season title in 2005, its final year in the conference before joining the ACC. The Eagles won the 2009 ACC tournament title.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: BC has come within one victory of the Final Four three times, most recently losing 74-66 to Florida in the 1994 regional final.

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: John Bagley (From 1979-80 through 1981-82, the 6-foot point guard averaged 17.9 points, twice earning first-team All-Big East honors on teams that played in the NCAA tournament. He went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA)

ALSO: Craig Smith, Dana Barros, Michael Adams, Jared Dudley, Reggie Jackson, 

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Al Skinner (Posted a program-record 247 victories from 1998-2010, winning three regular-season conference titles and earning seven NCAA tournament berths)

ALSO: Bob Cousy, Tom Davis

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL (most recent meeting): 3-0 (Boston College won 64-60 in 2019-20 at San Francisco. A rematch at BC in 2020-21 was canceled due to the pandemic)

Teya Sidberry / Photo courtesy of Boston College Athletics

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 

COACH: Joanna Bernabei-McNamee (92-88 in 6 years, including two 20-victory seasons)

ARENA: Conte Forum (8,606)

2023-24 RECORD: 15-19, 5-13/tied 12th in ACC

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Junior forward Teya Sidberry, a transfer last season from Utah, led the Eagles in scoring (13.6) and rebounding (6.7) while starting all 33 games. 

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2006 (lost to Utah 57-54 in the Sweet 16)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: 2003-04 (Big East tournament champion) 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Boston College has advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament three times — 2003, 2004 and 2006

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: Guard Sarah Behn scored 2,534 points while averaging 23.1 per game — both program records — from 1989-90 through 1992-93. She scored 30 points or more 26 times as a four-time All-Big East selection.

ALSO: Carolyn Swords, Holly Porter, Stefanie Murphy, Jaclyn Thorman

BEST ALL-TIME COACH Cathy Inglese (273-179 from 1993-94 through 20007-08 with seven NCAA tournament berths, including the Sweet 16 in 2003, 2004 and 2006)

All-time record vs. Cal (most recent meeting): 1-1 (Boston College won 81-69 in 2009-10)

Eddie Waitkus /

MISCELLANEOUS

VARSITY SPORTS (25): Baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women’s field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s ice hockey, women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, women’s volleyball

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (7): Men’s ice hockey 1949, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2012), women’s lacrosse (2021, 2024)

BEST ALL-TIME NON FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL ATHLETE: After attending Boston College, Eddie Waitkus played 11 major league seasons with three teams and twice was an All-Star. He is most remembered for being the victim of a 1949 shooting in his Chicago hotel room by a female stalker. The incident at least partially inspired Bernard Malamud’s book, “The Natural,” which became a motion picture starring Robert Redford. Waitkus returned to action in 1950, winning the AP’s Comeback Player of the Year while helping the Phillies to the World Series.

MOST FAMOUS OLYMPIAN: Gymnast Shannon Miller was a member of the 1996 gold-medal winning “Magnificent Seven” U.S. team and an individual gold-medal winner on the balance beam.