Boston College's major revenue sports of football and basketball are "captive to the greatest competitive crisis in the school's history, a failure to thrive that has raised concerns about the administration's role in the collapse," according to Bob Hohler of the BOSTON GLOBE. The state of the school's showcase sports -- losing all conference games in both football and basketball this year -- has "depleted morale, sapped attendance, diminished BC's national athletic stature, and prompted calls for action." BC also "faces a diversity problem," as every head coach of the school's 31 sports teams is white, and the school's 51-member BOT "does not include any African-Americans." Home football attendance has "dropped to its lowest point in 25 years, largely because season ticket sales have plummeted" by more than 60% since BC joined the ACC in '05. By contrast, BC's men's and women's hockey teams, which compete in the Hockey East Association, "are national powers." BC AD Brad Bates said, "The reality in college sports is that you have to win in football and basketball, and in both those sports we've just had terrible seasons." Hohler noted BC fans "say the administration has failed to sufficiently collaborate with vital constituencies such as students, alumni, donors, and former players." BC last month "countered some of the criticism" by announcing plans to "build a new student recreation center, new baseball and softball fields, and an indoor fieldhouse for the football team and other sports." But the athletic department has "yet to fully raise" the $200M projected cost and the school has just "begun seeking the city of Boston's approval for the fieldhouse." School President William Leahy "controls BC's athletics," but he is "seen by many alumni as less exuberant about building elite sports programs than advancing the school's academic excellence" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/13).
