Addressing the Corrigan rumors

Sunday night Steve Lively sent out an email to the BC Football Alumni profiling Army AD Boo Corrigan and reporting a rumor he heard regarding Corrigan as a candidate for the BC job. I was copied, as was Brian. In the past few days that email has transferred to message boards saying Corrigan is our next AD. I think this is all premature. Corrigan may end up as the hire, but I don't believe BC has made a decision yet.

Leo Sullivan is still traveling and still seeking input and feedback from friends of the program and university. At this point I don't believe we have a set group of finalists. Father Leahy has also been very busy with the start of school. I don't believe he and Sullivan have gone from still screening candidates less than a week ago to making a final decision.

Lively was a vocal critic of Gene and is likely hearing a lot of gossip (just like many of us). I do think Gene's treatment of him and some of the football alumni did impact the forced resignation. However, I don't think Father Leahy nor Sullivan are going to tip their hand to him in return during this process.

Corrigan would be a solid, conservative replacement. If his candidacy does progress, I will dig deeper into his Pros and Cons. Until then, I think we just have to be patient.

Lively takes his fight to Facebook

When Jack Dunn rebutted Steve Lively's criticisms of Gene, he included the following:

It has caused a number of people, including several of Steve’s former football teammates, to express concern for him and his judgment.

It seems that there are a growing number of BC Football Alumni supporting Lively's efforts. He has a private, football Alumni group on Facebook that currently has 120 members and growing. Most of the members are players from the '80s and '90s.

Although Facebook groups are a dime a dozen, I think Lively is using the right approach. He's got select membership who understand BC football's history and potential. Ultimately this will come down to wins, losses and money. If Lively's group is organized and well funded, BC will have to listen. I also think that using former players as a sounding board will only help his message. At times his letters have missed their target or got bogged down in personal minutia with Gene. As a group they are much more likely to deliver effective communication.

I don't know if Lively will open the group to non-football players, but even without fans, he has momentum.

Piling on Gene doesn't really matter

Boston Metro produced a long overdue critique of BC's decline in major sports and put most of it at the feet of Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo. I thought the article was a worthy read and quoted the right critics. But for whatever negative attention it brings on Gene, it really won't impact anything. BC made that perfectly clear when they publicly sided with Gene after Steve Lively's second letter.

Regardless of where you stand on who is to blame and if Gene should go, it will all come down to this football season. If Spaz cannot deliver a winning record, I think he will be gone and Gene will either be fired of neutered of power behind the scenes.

Until then, we are in a holding pattern. Crawley is safe. Donahue's staffers are probably safe and Spaz is certainly safe.

If the Metro article does spark a wave of copycat articles and investigations, the only real benefit will be to BC bloggers and disgruntled fans who want to keep the Fire Gene movement fresh in people's heads.

BC responds to Steve Lively and I give my two cents

Last November, I was blind copied on a letter written by Steve Lively to the Board of Trustees. Earlier this week Lively followed up his first letter with another email. I ignored it this time. Since his last email, Lively had now included a racial component to his criticism that I didn't want to delve into. I certainly have my agenda and think race and sports are intertwined, but I don't necessarily want to endorse everything Lively is saying. He's certainly welcome to voice his opinions -- as many BC fans, alumni and bloggers have been doing for years. He also sprinkled in numerous personal anecdotes that make his argument seem less a mission to fix BC and more about "getting" Gene. [Copies of the full letter are on various message boards.]

BC finally responded to Lively's criticism with the following statement.

Steve Lively’s letter regarding Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo is perplexing and unfortunate, and filled with irresponsible and baseless claims. It has caused a number of people, including several of Steve’s former football teammates, to express concern for him and his judgment.



Under Gene’s leadership, the BC Athletics program has remained true to its traditions and the pursuit of excellence. Boston College has one of the highest student-athlete graduation rates in the country, its athletics facilities have been upgraded significantly, and its athletes have succeeded on the field and in service to the wider community.



Gene DeFilippo has the confidence, respect and support of countless members of the Boston College community, including University President Fr. William Leahy, as well as colleagues in intercollegiate athletics throughout the United States.



Jack Dunn, University Spokesman

I blame Gene for many of the issues currently facing BC sports. I also think he oversteps his role and can lack tact at times. That doesn't gloss over all his many accomplishments while at BC or the improvements he has made to the school. We joke about how he is quick to remind people what things were like when he arrived, but he does deserve credit. However, he is in a high profile role required to make tough decisions. Over 15 years you are going to upset people, make enemies and make plenty of poor decisions. Also after 15 years you will tend to get complacent, set in your ways and start to think your past success means you can always make the right decision. Gene's persona and the comments he continues to make to the media and alumni are going to cause controversy. As much as we would like a victory lap conclusion to his career and smooth transition to his retirement, he may be too controversial for that to happen.

Lively can keep challenging Gene, but the statement from Dunn shows that the school's leadership has Gene's back. At this point I recommend individual fans keep up with your personal feelings and continue to use your gifts to the school as a vehicle to send a message.

Select Football Alumni send letter and survey to Board of Trustees

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