Share your BC story with Mike Shoule

Mike Shoule, the author of My Daddy Loves Boston College Football, has a new project that enables other BC fans to contribute. His company ReadTogetherBooks.com is taking submissions from BC fans regarding their BC memories. As you can see, many parents of BC football players have already posted. Shoule welcomes you to post too. It is a cool feature and a great way to share what is special about BC.

Guest Blogger: Brian Foley from College Baseball Daily

My challenge with commenting on BC baseball is perspective. I know a little about BC baseball but not much about college baseball in general. The record and the stats show that BC is terrible, but I wanted a more informed opinion. You can't get more informed than Brian Foley. He's a BC grad and the editor and founder of College Baseball Daily. My questions and his answers follow.


1. When we last did this, you thought Gambino would get another year. Do you still feel that way? 

Brian Foley: The last time we did this was before the team started playing up north against some of the mid-week opponents. I thought that maybe the team would have to get used to playing outdoors and the underclassmen that were playing would come around. After starting to play up North (March 26th), they went 5-6 in games. Is that respectable? Not for an ACC team. BC went 8-15 OOC with an extremely weak OOC schedule with losses to Ohio (14-39) and UMass (14-31).

 2. As I mentioned over the weekend, we cannot build a new field in one year. You can't turn the roster. You can't change the weather. What are some immediate things BC can do to improve the baseball program? 

Brian Foley: You can't build a field in one year? I know there is an athletic department in Providence that played an entire season in an arena that was getting construction done on it and the renovations will be done in time to start the season in October. BC "could" build a field in a year but the extra stuff wouldn't be able to be done. But the main issue is, how long can a coach continue to lie to his players that they are getting a new stadium. Tony Sanchez was told he would be playing on the new field and ground was never broken and still isn't.

3. This season was a mess, but did anything give you hope or optimism? 

Brian Foley: Andrew Chin is the only positive but he only has one more season left at BC since he is going to be a draft eligible redshirt sophomore and wouldn't have been at BC if he didn't have Tommy John surgery near the end of his senior year.

4. If BC makes a change, when will it happen and who are some potential replacements?

Brian Foley: If BC makes a change, it needs to happen right now. Cincinnati let go Brian Cleary last Thursday and David Perno was let go on Sunday by Georgia. The longer they wait, the less likely they are going to get a legit candidate with head coaching experience.

Here is my top five
1. Rob Cooper (Wright State)
2. Jim Foster (Rhode Island)
3. Jayson King (Franklin Pierce)
4. Joe Sottalano (Army)- No chance he ever leaves Army...continues to win there.
5. Dave Perno (Former Georgia Coach)- No chance in the monetary range though as he made 450k last season and is due that for the 2014 season.

More moves: BC changes student ticket packages

First the Game Day tents, now Brad Bates changing in the student season ticket packages. Like the Game Day pregame facilities, I have no idea if this will work, but I applaud the action. Empty student seats were an embarrassment  Maybe this will change things.

Austin Tedesco broke the news and highlighted how the program will work.

All undergraduate students will be eligible to purchase the pass, and there will not be a limit on the number of passes sold. Once purchased, the pass will be loaded onto a student’s Eagle-One Card. Students will then be able to swipe their IDs for entrance to all football, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s hockey games.

Swiping a card instead of a paper ticket is hardly revolutionary. BC is playing catch up there. The bigger change is the bundling of all the tickets at a reduced cost and available to all students. Two of the biggest complaints students have had (going back to my days) is lack of tickets and the cost. Now both have been addressed. The best part of the plan is bundling football with the other sports. Even the least interested BC student tends to buy football tickets. The casual Superfan was only committing to a few games and the cost was relatively cheap. Now those passive fans will have access to more events. I don't think they will suddenly become die hards and attend every basketball and hockey game, but it should create a marginal increase in attendance.

 Based on just his recent announcements, I am becoming very optimistic about the plan Bates is unveiling this summer. His early moves have shown a willingness to address long-neglected issues. If we keep heading down this path being a BC fan might be a totally new experience in five years.

Divitto on watch list and other weekend news

The organizers of the Lott award named Steele Divitto to their watch list. Many of these early watch lists are generated by the schools themselves pushing candidates. Divitto has been solid so far in his BC career but far from a standout. Maybe the new defense and a little more physical maturity will see his career blossom. I do think he'll be good in more of an attack mode under Brown.

Soaring to Glory is posting a nice Year in Review series.

More on former BC assistant Pat Duquette's rise to UMass-Lowell.

BC's hoops schedule is nearly full.

Baseball loses finale, no easy answers ahead

Baseball dropped their final game of the season, concluding the worst year BC Baseball has had as a member of a conference (Big East and ACC). They finished 12-40 overall and 4-25 in the ACC. Being competitive in the ACC will always be a challenge, but I think the cause for concern was how much BC struggled outside of the conference. Given all of our advantages just from a talent perspective we should not struggle against other New England and northern teams.

We all know the structural issues around the program. But we won't build a new field overnight. We cannot change the climate. And although the roster under-performed given their stats in high school and AAU, we cannot drastically change much about that in one season. Fair or not, the thing Bates can do is change the coaching. He has two options: fire Gambino or give Gambino more money to address his assistants situation. I don't know which direction he will take. Bates fired Spaz, but that was nearly predetermined for any AD prospect. Gambino was probably not on his radar when Bates interviewed last fall. This will be a tough call. Do you get rid of a young alum or do you give him one more season?

I am not a BC baseball expert. But those who do follow it closely like Brian Foley from College Baseball Daily think Gambino needs to go. Statistically we were a mess. Our record was pitiful and our players did not scratch the surface of their potential.

We will have obstacles in building an elite baseball program. But there are no obstacles to building a competitive one. Bates needs to figure out how to become competitive and then make the tough decisions to get us there.

Strachan commits

Addazio picked up another commitment Friday. The newest member of the recruiting class is Mass LB Connor Strachan. The St. Sebastian's product is one of the top players in the state. He has offers from most of the programs in the Northeast and interest from bigger players outside the region.

Nine committments at this stage keeps BC high in the national rankings. The number of early commitments also leaves me to speculate that this will be a big recruiting class (close to 25 recruits). The scholarships aren't there yet, but I think you'll see more attrition of current players over the summer and next fall. I actually welcome attrition since Addazio has proven that he can close on the guys he wants.

Tweets of the Week

An ELITE Academic degree with an NFL future. Where else would you want to be?! #WeAreBC

— Steve Addazio (@BCCoachAddazio) May 16, 2013

Just met Coach Adazzio for the first time. Extremely impressed. He'll do great.

— BC Hockey Blog (@bchockeyblog1) May 16, 2013

@notthefakesvp @d1scourse OK, Scott. Beat Boston College in football or something.

— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) May 16, 2013

Today's captains Former terp and recent alumni of Boston college Both played baseball and both now have ALS twitter.com/TERPNATION_/st…

— TERPNATION (@TERPNATION_) May 16, 2013

I honestly didn't expect to see Skinner spend the last 3 years getting passed over so many times.

— Soaring to Glory (@SoaringtoGlory) May 16, 2013

Passed @coachjfrye in followers. These young guys got nothing on me and my twitter game. @bccoachwash- I'm coming after you. #Compete

— Don Brown (@FBCoachDBrown) May 16, 2013

I went to the @bostoncollege football camp at 14, balled out got a scholarship at 15 and the rest history. SIGN UP!bceagles.com/camps/bc-fb-ca…"

— William (@willblackmon) May 15, 2013

BC basketball's influence spreads all over New England

UMass-Lowell hired former BC assistant Pat Duquette as their new coach. I am happy for Pat as he was another in a long-line of quality Al Skinner assistants. Duquette getting the job was a reminder that while the local media might not always pay attention to BC sports, the other New England Athletic Departments do. And hiring yet another BC assistant shows that people in college athletics appreciate our approach to basketball.

Of all the college sports, men's college basketball might be the most exploitative of the student athletes. It starts before they even step on campus with the corrupt AAU circuit and then continues as men's hoops has an intensive travel schedule that really makes it hard to be a student and it all wraps up with a multi-billion dollar tournament that underwrites the NCAA. BC has done basketball the right way for a long time, but really became a program to emulate under Skinner and continues now under Donahue. Other ADs recognize that and so you now find BC guys leading Providence, Northeastern, BU, UMass-Lowell, and Bryant. (It should also be noted that former BC coach Jim O'Brien is at Emerson.)

Ironically while his former assistants flourish, Al Skinner was passed over for another local job. UMass-Lowell hinted at what might have been the problem -- "our discussions with Al didn’t go quite in a direction that would work as well for Al." I can only speculate on what was said, but it reads like Al wants to do things his way. I applaud him for demanding his way when he returns. One day soon an AD is going to let Skinner do things his way and won't regret it. Just ask all of Al's guys who are now leading New England basketball.

BC fans are not teaching our children well

I've read "My Dad Loves Boston College Football" hundreds of times. Any time my son brings it over, I am helpless to resist. Yet today was the first time I realized what a dangerous book it was and how it captures all that is wrong with BC fandom. This cute little children's book is proof that BC's fan issues are "nurture" not nature. Don't believe me? It is right there on the pages. Take a look:

For those who can see the text, it reads: "Before the game starts we set up the tailgate. When I'm cooking with Daddy everything is just great." Harmless, right? Now look closer. If you look at the Upper Deck in the background, you will see that the Alumni is full (or nearly full). And this dad is still out at his tailgate throwing the football around and eating. He doesn't care if he is in the stadium at kickoff and he is teaching his son the same thing.

Now if you think I am overthinking this, check out the next page:

This time the text reads: "We look for our seats with the rest of the crowd. Inside Alumni Stadium it gets really loud." Once again look at the picture. Does it look like most of the crowd is looking for their seats? No, the stadium is full and this Father of the Year is just getting inside. Plus, look at the food and drinks he picked up. That easily delayed him getting to his seats. I am betting it is the Second Quarter by the time he finally sits down. And little Junior is going to think this is how BC fans support their team.

I've been preaching that if we are ever going to change the fan culture around BC it will start with the young SuperFans. Now I've lost hope. If this is what we are reading to them now, I don't know if they will ever learn.

The benefits of an eight-game ACC schedule

The ACC has gone back and forth on the issue, but it seems like now there is a consensus that the conference should stick to an eight-game football schedule. This makes the most sense for the ACC from a standpoint of history, money and football.

The driving force behind the initial flirtation with nine games was leveraging that extra game as a tool to get more money out of ESPN. But Notre Dame, the Grant of Rights and the ACC Network have given the conference multiple triggers to expand the TV deal. Adding another game now doesn't make sense. It is one of the conference's last cards to play, so it should be saved for when there might be another need to re-open the TV deal.

Although BC doesn't benefit directly from this, I like that the eight-game schedule allows ACC teams to keep their non-conference rivalries. Games like Louisville-Kentucky, Georgia-Georgia Tech and Florida State-Florida would be less likely if the ACC only had three non-conference games a season. Those games could still be in jeopardy if the SEC expands to nine-conference games, but for now those intersectional games are safe. And playing those games is good for the conference. It gets fans excited and allows us to change the perception of the league (assuming we start winning some of the contests).

Finally this is good for BC football (and the ACC). We know games against the FCS are not going away. We also know that schedule fodder like New Mexico State is not going away. Those games are too important financially and those two wins are critical to perception and bowl eligibility. A ninth ACC game would have left BC with just one non-conference game of note. Eight games allow us to play at least two interesting games. My preferred mix is one peer school (Northwestern, Vanderbilt, etc) and one traditional power (Ohio State, USC, etc.). With eight games that can still happen.