1. BC joins the ACC
While the move to the ACC doesn't have the defined moment that a victory provides, there was no bigger deal for BC sports than moving to the ACC. The revenue, security and branding the move ensured helped take BC sports to the next level. Father Leahy and Gene deserve credit for getting the ACC back to the table after the first attempt fell apart and for closing the deal when the second chance arose. The fact that BC has been very competitive in the new conference is the cherry on top. In the ever changing world of college athletics, BC now has a permanent place at the table and a world class conference for our athletes and fans.
2. BC's comeback in Blacksburg
It lacks the historical importance of Flutie's Hail Mary, but Ryan's comeback in Blacksburg will remain his defining college moment and the highlight of one of BC's best seasons. It had all the elements you want: a national TV audience, a win despite the clock and the odds, and a total team effort. The magical season did end but for a moment it seemed like it was our turn on top.
3. The 2001 National Championship
When Jerry York took over the hockey program in 1994, many wondered if BC could ever rebuild and return to its former glory. This title was the culmination of that rebuilding effort. After near misses the prior years, this was also proof that BC could win the big one.
4. The 2001 Big East Championship
Much like Jerry York, Al Skinner took over a program in ruins. His first few years were real struggles, but Troy Bell's strong freshman year offered hope. The 2000-01 season started off surprisingly well and never really slowed down. BC won the regular season and then capped it off with a BE Tourney run at MSG.
5. The 2004 Big East Championship
I'll concede that the BC Women's run in the 2004 Big East Tourney has probably been forgotten by many BC fans. That unfortunate because it was a huge accomplishment and the highlight of women's sports in the past ten years. (Plus they beat the UConn women in route to the finals, which is always nice.)
6. The basketball team starts 20-0
Like some of the moments above, it felt like the team could do no wrong. And this wasn't a cream puff, fluky streak. We beat Clemson, UCLA, UConn, West Virginia, Georgetown and a host of other real programs. It also saw the emergence of Jared Dudley as a dominant player. The second half of the season included an early exit from the Big East Tournament and a disappointing showing against UW-Milwaukee but the start of the season will be tough to top.
7. Beating Notre Dame in the green jersey game
The Irish were undefeated and in their latest "return to glory." Handing them their first loss was important but the jerseys were also a statement. Wearing special uniforms for the BC game was acknowledgment that we were a special game and a rival. This was the signature win of the TOB era.
8. The 2008 National Championship
If the 2001 Championship was the culmination of the rebuild, this title showed that BC could do more than just make the Frozen Four. It also relieved the sting of the two tough losses in the 2006 and 2007 Championship game.
9. Winning at Clemson in 2007
Another Ryan comeback and another classic with the Tigers. The difference with this game though was that it clinched the division title and put BC in the ACC Championship game.
10. Beating No. 6 Duke in 2009
There are plenty of other basketball wins that could have made the list, but this game marked a couple of milestones. 1. we finally beat Duke. 2. It legitimized BC's earlier win at North Carolina. 3. It gave BC another resume win. 4. It happened in front of a home crowd. 5. We finally beat Duke.
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That's a pretty comprehensive list, though I might add the win over Georgia in the Music City Bowl.
Does it say something about BC fans that the good moments are harder to dream up than the bad ones, or have we just had more bad ones?
I was a freshmen during Matty's heisman run and the Va Tech game was the most crazy i have ever seen campus. 30 guys packed into my triple on upper and one of my buddies caught my TV as it was falling off the dresser from ppl goin nuts...fantastic game.
also, was able to travel down to clemson for the comeback win that same year - phenomenal finish that capped off an absurd day, especially having it be a night game.
finally, rushing the court last year after beating duke was probably the best college basketball game i've ever been to.
some good picks atleagle, and some good memories!
How about BC football being ranked #2 in the Nation! That was special I'd say...Would we ever see that again?
2007 men's soccer wins the ACC regular season and tournament titles; BC's first ACC championships in any sport.
Actually that whole 07-08 season was a big highlight between soccer, football, and hockey. What fun.
I'm surprised Matt Ryan being drafted as the 3rd overall pick in the NFL draft and going to the ATL didnt crack this list.
The decade has been good to BC.
Good list, although I would have put Jags' first press conference in there. I know his hiring ultimately lead to an ugly departure, but since this is a list of encapsulated moments, I think it makes sense to put his initial presser in the list.
it's more of an individual accomplishment than a team one, but gionta's 5 goals on 5 shots in the first period against maine was pretty spectacular.
rushing the court after beating #9 syracuse in bball in 2001 was also pretty special, but i guess that's encapsulated in the 2001 big east championship entry.
The Miracle in Blacksburg, the 2008 National Championship and the win against Duke last year all defined my four years at BC in terms of sports. Those are each events that I will never forget. Especially the win against Duke. That was a game where all the pieces just fell together. The crowd was electric. I still get a big smile watching the last few minutes on youtube. Storming the court is one of my best memories at BC and is something I will never forget. For once, BC didn't blow it and it was truly our night.
gameday!!!!!!!!
The VTech win is one of my favorite BC memories. All the dorms on lower flooded immediately when the clock ticked down to :00 and the mods rocked that night.
The next day a grad student who worked in the same lab as me asked "So was something going on last night? We heard this immense roar coming from campus." He lived in an apartment 5-6 blocks down comm ave.
Also, the Duke court rush was way fun. Got a hug from Tyrese and a high five from Dudley.
For the 2001 National Championship, I would put the whole run through the Frozen Four. That was a magical year with a magical team of NHL stars, and the way they won in the playoffs - exorcising the demons of years past (Maine/Michigan/NoDak) was storybook.
There could probably be a top 10 moments list built on the 2001 hockey season alone. Gionta's five goals on five shots, the comeback against a UNH team on a night Ty Conklin was stopping everything, Clemmenson's play in the Beanpot, the HE tourney run, tearing down the mod fences...
For me the clip from the VT win captures the highest and lowest moment in BC football in the last decade. The comeback was so very sweet, but then there's everything that makes the Jags debacle painful. His out of control celebration was so viscerally in tune with the fans' emotions at that moment. You just knew that this guy cared as much as you did. I don't think there's been a connection like that between the fans and the HC since Bicknell, maybe Coughlin, but that was just pure intensity without any warmth.
As for the #1 "moment" of the last decade, it's a bit of a cheat, but I'm with Nick and Kelly and Lally -- the 2001 hockey run through the second half of the season and through the tournaments was pure magic.
For me, the #1 moment is definitely the 2001 National Championship. The Kolanos goal was Bobby Orr like and in overtime. It doesn't get much better than that as far as hockey goes. Also, hockey was the biggest sport on campus at the time and winning after three consecutive Frozen four (two NC) failures was an incredible catharsis. The only thing I didn't like about being there was that I didn't get to rip down that stupid fence later. I lived in the mods too!
The second best moment was the green jersey ND game. Knocking them and their fans' enormous egos off a pedestal was extremely gratifying.
Nothing after that really sticks out from the pack of other moments mentioned for me other than the '08 National Championship simply because it was a national title.
Here is our travel reputation.......from Pat Forde of ESPN
"Why to watch: To see whether the Trojans mail it in. And to see whether the notoriously uninterested Eagles fans travel across country the day after Christmas in numbers great enough to fill a cable car."
great list. hearing "...and Lane Stadium goes SILENT!" still gives me chills. i remember exploding out of ignacio to joing the party in the mods after that one. my class of '08 was blessed with a great 4 years of BC sports. I hope BC can cap off the decade with a signature win against USC.
I think Matt Ryan puking on the sideline after that drive should be moment number 2-A. Beautiful.
First of all, it's funny to see what people rank as the top moment depending upon when they were actually in school and which sports they follow.
Second of all, I have been lucky enough to see a lot of awesome sporting events (thinking about it now, I can't believe how many, both BC related and not) including 3 of the top 5 actual games on this list but the VT game was the most thrilling. My brother and I were certainly not the only 2 BC fans there that night but we were the only 2 sitting 4 rows behind the VT bench and directly behind the guy who the field was named after (Warsham field).
With that said, the 2001 National Championship should be #1 on the list. After three straight years of not being able to win the big one (which sadly has come to define BC athletics in a lot of ways), and squandering a late 2-0 lead in that game, Kolanos's goal finally let BC fans exhale and, for once, we weren't left wondering how they would find a way to screw it up.
I think you've got to include the sailing national championships in here somewhere. Granted, it's sailing and not football. But still, consistently being the best in the country at ANYTHING is worth recognition, without a doubt.
Worth recognition sure but no one cares about it outside of the sailors and their parents. Aren't there also several "national championships" per year?
Also don't know why 2008 hockey is so low, sure it wasn't as dramatic as 2001 but putting a regular season OOC game & a women's conference tournament above it? Come on ATL.
Agree with BC2xeagle, the 2007 men's soccer wins: the ACC regular season and ACC tournament titles should be top ten.
We have a women's b-ball team?
Claver2010 and Ryan thank you for breaking the ice over #5. I'm pretty sure it was a bigger moment when I hit my first 9 cups in a beirut game sophomore year.
Hey the women winning the championship WAS a big deal - when I was at BC, in the 90s, they still were the Lady Eagles (ugh) and played in a small practice gym, they kicked me and my roommates off of to play games.
BC, under Chet "I lucked out by hiring tom coughlin' Gladchuck, also was huge in trying to gain a football exemption for title IX, meaning they could've ignored women's sports all the more.
bc---
I remember the court rush when we beat Syracuse (also ranked in the top 10) during our run to 20-0 (2004-2005)... was there also a court rush back in 2001? I wasn't an eagle yet at that point, so I don't know about such a game.
Yes, BC students rushed the court after beating Syrcause in 2001:
http://bceagles.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/020701aaa.html
thats awesome, thanks for the link!
I firmly believe that every crazy college basketball fan should have the chance to rush the court one time while they are in school... 2001, 2005, 2009. Let's keep that going!
"It's about time," senior guard Jermaine Watson said with a laugh. "I've been ready for this since I came to college. I've been waiting for my opportunity to dance with the crowd."
ahhh... the memories.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=1995554
sorry for the back to back posts... but Pat Forde had our back even if the whiner Boeheim didn't ---
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim snickered about the Conte Forum crowd charging the court, something usually reserved for big upsets.
"I thought they were ranked sixth in the country," he said sarcastically. "Maybe they just think we're better than we are."
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