Boston College Basketball: Steve Donahue's Fate Announced On Monday?

According to Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated, Boston College men's basketball coach Steve Donahue met with athletics director Brad Bates on Thursday and was told he would return for a fifth season. Bates later declined to confirm the report to the Boston Globe a day later, stating "When we're ready to make a public statement in the best interest of the program, we'll do that.''

On Sunday, ajerseyguy.com's Mark Blaudschun is reporting that Donahue met with Bates and Boston College president Fr. William Leahy -- telling! -- today and that a statement will come out on Monday. What will that statement say, you ask?

Donahue reportedly met with BC athletic director Brad Bates and BC President Father William Leahy on Sunday and while there remained a possibility that Donahue could be dismissed, the odds favored a joint statement coming out on Monday in support of the program.

[snip]

It is still not a completely done deal, but all indications were pointing that Donahue would be back for his fifth season.

Blaudschun also floats the possibility of a staff shakeup, but four years into the Donahue experiment, I'm not sure what top assistant is going to sign up for what could be a very short-lived stay on the Heights.

So how does Bates feel about the direction of the program?

"The obvious answer is we're not where we want to be. Our university motto is ‘Ever to Excel' and that's where we want to be, whether it's competitively or as scholars or as leaders and servers.''

Far too many "OR" conjunctions in that quote for my liking. Not enough "ANDs."

Look, if the school truly takes the university's motto seriously, there isn't even a decision to be made here. Swallow your pride -- and your checkbook -- and commit to putting a competitive product on the floor. It's literally the second easiest decision Bates will make as Boston College athletics director.