The Twelve Pack Conference Draft Profile: Boston College Eagles

Doubling back to profile our draft picks in the SB Nation Conference Re-Draft ...

School: Boston College
Nickname: Eagles (And no, not the Golden Eagles)
Colors:  Maroon and Gold
Mascot: Baldwin and his mentally challenged brother Baldwin Jr. 
Location: Chestnut Hill, Ma.
Enrollment: 14,640
Varsity Sports: 31
Football Stadium: Alumni Stadium (44,500)
Basketball Arena: Conte Forum (8,606 for hoops, 7,884 for hockey)

SBN Blog: BC Interruption

On to the vitals:

TV Revenue Potential. Boston is the seventh largest TV market in the country. Now before you talk about the lack of interest in BC locally, remember that we are pursuing a BTN-like revenue model. There are a lot of households in New England, and I think they'd be more willing to tune in with a steady diet of Texas, Georgia, UCLA, Wisconsin, Washington, Clemson and Duke coming to the Heights.

Academics. BC ranks 31st in this year's USN&WR National University rankings, fitting the Twelve Pack Conference draft profile perfectly. BC's athletes are also something to proud about as they consistently rank near the top in yearly APR. 

Co-eds. Can't complain here. Winter time is tough around the city because the girls cover up because of the weather, but come April the girls blossom like a fine wine. 

Weather/Desirability of Destination. Boston is a great place to live. Historic landmarks, great food and great beer. The surrounding communities also are great. In fact, Newton was recently ranked the #3 most desirable place to live in the country.

Weather? Well that's a different story. The weather is cold and snowy from December-April, and sticky humid hot from June-September. Those other three months are just absolutely charming though!

Historic Success. BC has been very successful in two major sports -- hockey and sailing. Don't snicker, those two sports are very important to the fragile Eagles fan psyche. Our hockey team has won four national titles -- three in the last decade -- and sailing has won 5 National Championships, including back-to-back co-ed sailing titles.

Finally, I answered some questions for the commish on the Eagles (you know, he has to keep up appearances of impartiality):

Commissioner: Tell us more about your football and basketball program, in 300 words or less (grad school essay style).

BCHysteria: I am going to go ahead and stay real positive about BC football and basketball.  BC has had mixed success since their move from the Big East to the ACC in 2005. Two ACC titles games has led to zero BCS bowls for the Eagles, who because of a fan base that travels poorly, gets relegated to lower tier bowl games. Football has hit a tough patch of late under Coach Spaziani. They haven't had a good quarterback since Matt Ryan, had a paltry offense because of that, and the Eagle's record has reflected that. There is reason to be optimistic though. New offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers should add more excitement to our offense, and hopefully turn Chase Rettig from a skittish freshman, into a confident capable QB. On the defensive side, we have always been great. Luke Kuechly will the Butkus Award this year, mark that down.

Historically BC has been a mix bag in basketball. Some years they play terribly, while others you get something special. Most recently the team made it's deepest run in the tournament in 2005-06 team, where they lost in OT in the Sweet Sixteen to Villanova. On the basketball side, there is a lot of unknowns going into this season. After years of success with Al Skinner, our AD Gene DeFillipo decided to go in a different direction with new head coach Steve Donahue. Recently BC has been to the tournament 7 times in the last ten years, but last season they just missed after laying out a stinker in the ACC tournament. 

Commish: What is your school's best non-revenue sport? What is that program's defining moment / crowning achievement?

BCHysteria: Sailing. Again don't laugh, but BC is a national powerhouse when it comes to sailing. Now don't ask me anything about the program because honestly I don't have a clue. I just know that year in and year out, they are alwasy in the hunt to win National Titles in sailing. Now there is something to be proud of. 

Commish: What excites you most about joining this conference?

BCHysteria: What's is there not to like about this conference? Academics, national championships galore and large media markets. This seems to be a financially secure group of schools that will have no problems creating rivalries that interest their fanbase (Texas-Georgia football, Duke-UCLA basketball, BC-Wisconsin hockey). Keeping academics as a priority is key as well as we now have 6 schools in the US News and World's top 50 colleges. 

Commish: If you are in Chestnut Hill for a football game, what's the #1 local spot -- bar, restaurant, attraction -- you have to visit before you leave?

BCHysteria: Hopefully you have a huge appetite because I would strongly recommend that you visit Eagle's Deli on your trip to BC. Our tailgating policy is horrible, so you probably would have plenty of time before a game to stop by and have one of their juicy burgers. Eagles does everything in quantity, so expect Burgers the size of your head. But at the same time the food is delicious. There are tons of eating challenges at the Deli, including a Godzilla challenge which pits you against one pound of burger, and one pound of fries. Fail, and your picture is put on the Wall of Shame. Big stakes huh?

Commish: Which conference road trip are you most looking forward to and why?

BCHysteria: Without a doubt I would say Texas. If we could get a crew of BC people together and visit the land of the Longhorns, I think it would be quite the trip. Hot girls, great gameday experience and great southern food make Texas a must see game day spot. Though those girls of U.C.L.A. ...

Commish: Last one. If you could pick one rap song that captures what this conference is all about, what is it?

BCHysteria:  As a lover of all things hip hop, I am going to go with a more current song: King of Rock by Run DMC