The Boston College Eagles football team represents Boston College in the sport of American football. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Eagles home games are played at Alumni Stadium on the university's campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Formed in 1892, Boston College has won four Eastern championships in 1940, 1942, 1983, and 1984 when most Division I FBS schools in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions remained independent, and one co–Big East championship in 2004. BC claims one national championship in 1940, though the NCAA doesn't recognize it. The program has amassed over 700 wins,Sports Illustrated and has a 15–13 record in postseason bowl games, most notably the 1941 Sugar Bowl and 1985 Cotton Bowl. Boston College has produced a Heisman Trophy winner (Doug Flutie in 1984), 13 consensus All-Americans, and over 200 NFL players. Boston College has had eight members inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and three inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Art Donovan, Ernie Stautner, and Luke Kuechly.
Boston College is one of only two Catholic universities that field a team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the other being Notre Dame. In addition to success on the gridiron, Boston College football teams are consistently ranked among the nation's best for academic achievement and graduation. In 2005, 2006, and 2007, the football team's Academic Progress Rate was the highest of any school that finished the season ranked in the AP or ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls.
Boston College is the only FBS school in Massachusetts and in New England to compete in one of the Power Four conferences. The Eagles are currently coached by Bill O'Brien, who formerly served as head coach for Penn State and as offensive coordinator at Alabama as well as the NFL's New England Patriots.
History
Early history (1893–1938)
In 1892, Boston College President Edward Ignatius Devitt, S.J., 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. Some of the original team's alumni had particularly significant careers: Joseph F. O'Connell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, and running back James Carlin became president of the College of the Holy Cross.
In 1920, the Boston College football team adopted the nickname 'Eagles.' The season was capped by a stirring 14–0 victory over Holy Cross before 40,000 fans at Braves Field. The win gave the team a perfect 8–0 season and the school's first undefeated season. Eagles coach Frank Cavanaugh, coach from 1919 through 1926, was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame coach Gil Dobie was Boston College head coach from 1936 through 1938.
Frank Leahy era (1939–1940) The 1939 Boston College team, led by first-year head coach Frank Leahy, finished the regular season with a 9–1 record, and the Eagles were ranked in the final AP Poll for the first time in school history, at No. 11. They were invited to the school's first bowl game, the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, where they lost to Clemson, 3–6.
The 1940 season can arguably be called the greatest year in the history of Boston College football. BC finished the regular season at 10–0 and then captured the 1941 Sugar Bowl championship, earning the nickname "Team of Destiny". A 19–18 victory over No. 9 Georgetown, played before 41,700 fans at sold-out Fenway Park in mid-November, was called one of the greatest games ever by famed sportswriter Grantland Rice. Going into the game, the Hoyas had 22 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.
Coach Leahy, who would later cement his legendary status during an eleven-year stint as head coach at Notre Dame, took his undefeated Eagles on to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans where they beat No. 4 Tennessee, 19–13. Tied 13–13 in the fourth quarter, Tennessee's Bob Foxx missed a short field goal attempt with three minutes remaining, and Boston College took over on its own 20–yard line. Quarterback Charlie O'Rourke led the Eagles on an eighty-yard drive, capped with his 24-yard touchdown run to seal the victory.
Five members of the storied 1940 team have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: receiver Gene Goodreault (50); guard George Kerr (47); center Chet Gladchuk (45); fullback Mike Holovak (12); and halfback / quarterback Charlie O'Rourke (13). Due to racial segregation policies of the era, halfback Lou Montgomery, the first Black athlete in the history of Boston College, was forced to sit out both the 1940 Cotton Bowl and the 1941 Sugar Bowl.
A banner on the BC campus commemorating the 1940 team uses the phrase "national champions". However, Boston College was not awarded a national championship in any of the contemporary 1940 college football rankings, which concluded in early December, before the season's bowl games. Although BC's claim to a title is not recognized by the NCAA or college football historians in general, the College Football Data Warehouse website claims that two selectors (Cliff Morgan and Ray Bryne) rated BC at No. 1 for the 1940 season. The website states that BC's historic run resulted in a split championship with Minnesota, but it's not clear whether the selectors awarded BC a title contemporarily or retroactively. The NCAA lists only Minnesota (ranked at No. 1 in the final AP Poll of early December) as the national champion for 1940, and does not credit Boston College with any national championships in football.
Denny Myers era (1941–1950)
In 1941, Denny Myers was hired as head coach after Leahy left to become head coach at rival Notre Dame.
In 1942, Boston College won its first 8 games of the season, climbing to No. 1 in the AP Poll. All the Eagles needed to do to secure its first ever AP national championship was to beat rival Holy Cross (4–4–1) in the final game of the regular season. The result, however, was a stunning rout loss, 12–55. The Eagles team canceled their planned post-game celebration at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, which inadvertently saved the team from perishing along with 492 others in the Cocoanut Grove fire that occurred that night. Finishing No. 8 in the final AP rankings, the Eagles received an invitation to play in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day. All-American fullback Mike Holovak scored three rushing touchdowns, but Boston College ultimately lost to No. 10 Alabama, 21–37.
Mike Holovak era (1951–1959) Mike Holovak was named head coach of BC in 1951. During his tenure as head coach, the Eagles compiled a 49–29–3 record. Holovak won Coach of the Year honors in 1954 from New England football writers. Those efforts were good enough to earn him a new four-year contract on November 22, 1955, but even after four more winning seasons - he was fired on December 3, 1959, after a year in which Eagle fans had subjected him to constant verbal abuse. Holovak would move on to coach the Boston Patriots in the upstart American Football League (AFL) from 1961 to 1968.
Ernie Hefferle era (1960–1961) Ernie Hefferle, an assistant coach for the NFL's Washington Redskins, was hired as head coach of the Eagles following Holovak's firing. Hefferle's Eagles compiled a record of 7–12–1 in two seasons. However, mounting pressure to win from the alumni and administration led to Hefferle's resignation after the 1961 season.
Jim Miller era (1962–1967) BC hired Jim Miller away from Detroit as its head coach in January 1962. Under Miller, the Eagles compiled a record of 34–24 that included four winning seasons in those six years. Miller resigned after the 1967 season.
Joe Yukica era (1968–1977) New Hampshire head coach Joe Yukica was hired to replace Miller at BC. Yukica's Eagles compiled a 68–37 record, which included eight winning seasons. Yukica left BC after the 1977 season to accept the head football coach position at Dartmouth. One of the highlights during Yukica 's tenure was an upset win over No. 7 Texas to open the 1976 season.
Ed Chlebek era (1978–1980) The Eagles hired Ed Chlebek away from Eastern Michigan to lead its football program in January 1978. Despite a dismal 0–11 record in Chlebek's first season, BC rebounded to compile a 5–6 record in 1979 and a 7–4 record in 1980, leading to a job offer from Kent State to Chlebek, which he accepted. Chlebek's final record at BC is 12–21.
Jack Bicknell era (1981–1990)
Jack Bicknell was hired as BC's head coach after previously serving as head coach at Maine. The best player for the Eagles during Bicknell's tenure was quarterback Doug Flutie (of Natick, Massachusetts), who played for Boston College from 1981 to 1984. Flutie won the Heisman Trophy in his senior year. He left school as the NCAA's all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards and was a unanimous All-American. Bicknell's final record at Boston College was 59–55–1, took the Eagles to four bowl games, and won the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (awarded to the 'Eastern champion' in Division I FBS) twice: 1983 and 1984. He was fired after the 1990 season.
The Eagles completed the 1984 season with a 10–2 record, finishing at No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 4 in the Coaches' Poll. They defeated the SWC champion Houston Cougars in the 1985 Cotton Bowl, 45–28. Fullback Steve Strachan (of Burlington, Massachusetts) was named the game's MVP. He had 23 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Troy Stradford rushed for 196 yards, and sealed the game with an 18-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter as the Eagles clinched their first major bowl victory since the 1941 Sugar Bowl.