Boston University Task Force Completes Review Of Hockey Program

After about 6 months of review, the Task Force appointed by BU to examine the culture surrounding its hockey program has finally released its findings. The result? Pretty much exactly what everyone has suspected.

Our assessment has shown that a culture of sexual entitlement exists among some players on the men’s ice hockey team, stemming in part from their elevated social status on campus.

Hoo boy.

There is a whole mess of humiliation in here. Blame for BU's hockey culture is placed from top to bottom, everywhere from the university itself to the coaching staff to leadership on the team, citing "issues of institutional control and governance structure at the highest levels."

This is even more notable when you consider that the vast majority of the task force was made up of the school's own staff.

I won't go into the nitty-gritty of the findings; you can do that on your own. Some of the recommendations made are worth mentioning, however:

"The men’s ice hockey team members should undergo sexual assault prevention training on an annual basis."

This seems like a given.

"The Athletics Department should develop a strategic plan to ensure that members of the men’s ice hockey team in particular, and student-athletes in general, are better integrated into student life. Special attention should be given to the issue of housing, including the extent to which team members are housed in the same residence halls."

"A review of the processes and standards used by admissions for recruits to the men’s ice hockey program should be conducted to ensure that student-athletes are academically prepared to be successful students at Boston University."

And perhaps most interesting,

"Student-athletes should not have the option of enrolling in Metropolitan College."

MET is BU's night school. Have you ever gone on the T and seen those Suffolk or Harvard University night school flyers? Pretty much that. BU has been using the MET for either recruits who aren't academically up to snuff or for players who couldn't care less about academics and are just using BU as a minor league hockey experience, a la UConn basketball. This recommendation by the task force might be the biggest of their fourteen points.

It will be interesting to see how BU's recruiting changes and how many more current students decide to jump ship in the next year or two.