It’s Actually Really Good That Martin Jarmond is Getting Attention From Larger Athletic Programs

Look, I don’t think anyone wants Martin Jarmond to leave Boston College.

He’s been an exceptionally popular AD. He has done fantastic work bridging the gap between the department and the fans, particularly the alumni. His aim for the department is high, which is where it needs to be. He has had a few hires that have turned out really well, particularly for the women’s basketball program, and his most recent hire is slated to be a huge splash as well.

No one wants to see him go.

But the reality is that BC, as it stands right now, is not a final destination but a stepping stone for an AD of Jarmond’s caliber. Martin Jarmond is going to have a great career in collegiate athletics, and moving on is just a natural progression on what looks to be a very promising career.

BC, as much as we love it, and as much as it is unquestionably a Power 5 athletic program, is, as it stands right now, on the lower end of the Power 5. It punches above its weight in many regards, and for that the people who make up the department, including Jarmond, deserve a significant amount of credit. But to compare BC to, say, Jarmond’s previous stop, The Ohio State University, there is simply no comparison. Places like Ohio State, Wisconsin, and, yes, probably UCLA, are better resourced and frankly should be viewed as a step up from BC. If, and when, Jarmond moves on to one of these programs, it is not out of selfishness, but a desire to move up in the world and improve on himself—a motive that frankly is one that should be particularly shared by people affiliated with this institution.

Now, BC may be able to at least rub shoulders with some of these programs somewhere down the road. Academics will always be first and foremost at BC, as it should be, but athletics is taken seriously as well and maybe with proper building BC can get there some day. But if BC gets there, it will be because a string of people like Jarmond built BC to get there, because the only people that can get BC there are also the type of people a place like UCLA would court. Incidentally, those are also the type of people who would listen to overtures from a place like UCLA. And that’s ok.

So, yes, it will be a sad day if and when Martin Jarmond leaves the Heights for greener pastures. But if and when he does, it will be because he achieved a measure of success that the BC fanbase can take pride in (and yes, there has been improvement since he got to BC), and he left BC in a better place than he found it. And then the next person can come in and improve on Jarmond’s work.

It is, after all, the natural progression of things.