Heights and Lows

BC GRIEVANCE DIVISION OF LABOR

2013-05-02T14:15:00.001-04:00

Any time we get a chat with a BC player, regardless of sport, decision making ability or scholarship level, we can anticipate certain questions. To save time and repetition, this post reflects the division of labor among the BC bloggers to ask those questions so you don't have to.

Heights and Lows: "What are your thoughts on Men's Lacrosse becoming a D1 sport again?"
Eagle in Atlanta: "Will BC get a permanent Indoor Practice Facility?'
BC Interruption: "When will the Brighton Campus ball field be complete/started?"
Around the Res: "Is it time to replace baseball as a varsity sport if we can't compete?"
Soaring to Glory: "How will you encourage students to attend non-Duke basketball games?"

Remember, you no longer have to ask these questions. We have it. We promise. No, seriously, we'll totally ask them.

ACC HAS NO NEED FOR MASSACHUSETTS

2013-04-29T14:44:00.002-04:00

Yes, you can blame Spaz and/or Belichick for this nice little cut job:

HOCKEY GODS OFFER PROVIDENCE

2013-03-25T07:55:00.001-04:00

Late season woes could have been worse, but we'll take this sweet match-up down in Providence. Two wins to Pittsburgh...

BC FOOTBALL 2013 SCHEDULE

2013-02-25T15:04:00.005-05:00

Hot off the presses:

BC FOOTBALL 2013

8/31: Villanova

9/6: Wake Forest (Friday)

9/14: @ USC

9/21: OPEN

9/28: Florida State

10/5: Army

10/12: @ Clemson

10/19: OPEN

10/26: @ UNC

11/2: vs. Virginia Tech

11/9: @ New Mexico State

11/16: NC State

11/23: @ Maryland

11/30: @ Syracuse

IMPORTANT SITE UPDATE

2013-02-21T13:33:00.004-05:00

Please note, moving forward, we will be using the following GIF for all positive news related to BC sports.

Thanks,

Management.

[via.]

BC ATHLETICS FACEBOOK GRAPH SEARCH FAIL

2013-02-20T13:34:00.002-05:00

Yeah, yeah, this is what we came out of "waiting-for-the-schedule" hibernation for:

(It's Boston College Athletics, btw).

(Is it schedule time yet?)

RECKLESS SCHEDULING 2013 - V 2.0

2013-01-14T07:21:00.001-05:00

Well, the ACC broke the capsule, which while bad for the original prediction seems to help out BC a lot in terms of always having a few solid home games every year. Had it not been altered, BC would have been hosting its three biggest rivals in the conference - Syracuse, VT and Clemson - in one year while having them all on the road the next. This helps, and I'm supportive of it.

What we know now is that we will have Florida State, NC State, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech at home and travel at Clemson, Maryland, Syracuse and North Carolina. A minor change, but a nice one, again. Of course, it ruins our previous schedule prediction. Back to the drawing board with the new considerations, in italics:

UPDATED ATTEMPT:

8/31: STONY BROOK

9/7: Bye

9/14: @ USC

9/21: @ Clemson

9/28: New Mexico State

10/5: ARMY

10/12: vs Florida State

10/19: vs Virginia Tech

10/26: @ Maryland

11/1: vs Wake (Fri)

11/9: @ UNC

11/16: NC State

11/23: Bye

Thanksgiving Weekend (11/28-11/30): @ Syracuse (Friday p.m.)

ROLL MF'N TIDE

2013-01-07T19:30:00.002-05:00

There's been an interesting divide in this BC corner of the college football blogosphere. You see, not to call out anyone, but you wouldn't be shocked to know that the majority of the BC bloggers are generally recent grads, certainly all of us are post-Flutie.

The board posters, a few of the elder statesmen among the commenters, they do skew a little older.

And to all of you, I need to remind you of one thing: No. You can't cheer for Notre Dame tonight.

There is no conference supremacy argument, they're joining the ACC in the same way a teenager is having meaningful intercourse on prom night. You don't need to say they were the childhood team on which you were raised - you can cheer against them one day a year when we play, but think it's fine the rest of the year?

When a rival plays, you support their opponent. And trust me, they are our rivals, especially in the last two decades. Not every now and then. Always.

You don't want them to win the National Championship. You hope your daughters don't date their grads and you generally find every possible reason to associate them with the worst things in the world.

Don't ease up now.

ROLL.

TIDE.

KING JERRY

2012-12-29T19:16:00.001-05:00

Any questions?

RECKLESS SCHEDULING: 2013, V 1.0

2012-12-28T20:06:00.001-05:00

We're back to where we started: watching bowls, wishing we were playing.

The official schedule is months away, but just like last year, it's time to play with 'what we can imagine' and 'what's been announced' to conjure up a BC football schedule.

Hang on to your hats. Here. We. Go.

Known Entities

BC opens against Stony Brook over Labor Day weekend
BC hits the road to head to USC on 9/14
BC hosts Army on 10/5
At some point in the fall, BC will definitely play a non-conference game against New Mexico State
BC gets two byes since there are 14 weeks between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, at some point, too

Known ACC Games and Locations (In Theory)

BC will play Wake, NC State and Florida State at home
BC will play Maryland, Clemson, Virginia Tech on the road

A Question That Hasn't Been Answered

BC has to have one home game and one away game between a Coastal Opponent and Syracuse. IF the capsule remains together, it would be Georgia Tech at home, and Syracuse on the road.

The Mad Lib (All Caps Are Confirmed)

8/31: STONY BROOK

9/7: Open

9/14: @USC

9/21: Open

9/28: Open

10/5: ARMY

10/12: Open

10/19: Open

10/26: Open

11/2: Open

11/9: Open

11/16: Open

11/23: Open

Thanksgiving Weekend (11/28-11/30): Open

Considerations

BC has yet to announce Parents Weekend BUT it has been the last weekend of September since, well, as long as we can remember. Parents Weekend = Likely Squishy Opponent if possible. If not, bloodbath against Clemson.
BC has not played out on the west coast on the regular season in awhile
If the new ACC contract immediately goes into effect, BC would be involved in at least *one* Friday night game this year. The language is squishy and it could be read that BC or Syracuse will not only be involved in Friday night games, but definitely be hosting one or the other.

Completely Arbitrary Guesses That Mean Nothing And Likely Has Errors/Double Bookings:

8/31: STONY BROOK

9/7: Bye

9/14: @ USC

9/21: @ Clemson

9/28: New Mexico State

10/5: ARMY

10/12: vs Florida State

10/19: vs Coastal (GT or Pitt)

10/26: @ Maryland

11/1: vs Wake (Fri)

11/9: @ Virginia Tech

11/16: NC State

11/23: Bye

Thanksgiving Weekend (11/28-11/30): @ Syracuse (Friday p.m.)

A QUESTION ABOUT #12 ON 12/12/12

2012-12-12T07:48:00.002-05:00

What will Matt Ryan have to do to have his number retired at BC?

The two football numbers retired belong to Doug Flutie and Mike Ruth - both who were awarded top flight hardware for season accomplishments, the Heisman and Outland respectively. Men's hoops have not retired any numbers, just jerseys. Hockey has saved the honor only for Dave Emma, Hobey Baker winner. Women's hoops honor Sarah Behn's #33 as she was the first 2,000 point scorer in team history.

All of that to say: is there a rhyme and/or a reason to the number retirement? If we go by top flight awards, Luke Kuechly's #40 will be off the board while future QBs fight for the honor of the 1-2 (although, it is currently vacated, perhaps out of respect). However, Ryan's BC career was the epic high point in the last 15 years, and with a little joy needed around the team...would it be an option? What if he wins the Super Bowl or an MVP? Would that be enough?

ADDAZIO AND THE RED RYDER BB GUN

2012-12-06T09:46:00.003-05:00

It's been, what, 36 hours and change. The initial, self-fulfilling fury of Steve Addazio being revealed as Brad Bates' head coach selection has somewhat subsided. We've now met Addy, and we've seen his excitement come through the media train he's been sent out around.

Let's talk about three things.

Why BC Fans Were Pissed At the Announcement
BC Fans were pissed at the announcement because the leaks, sources, bloggers, media and rumors pointed to grandiose, sexy things like Bob Diaco and Al Golden. It's become clear that Golden really may be willing to stay with his Miami ship, and Diaco has been subject to other speculation. Whether you believe the rumor that Diaco tanked his interview (the current spin from the inside), didn't want the job and was using BC for more money at ND or that Bates had his mind made up and never gave him a chance, he's not our coach and no one else's, yet, either.

We had talked ourselves into it, that this was the big hire for BC. We were going to screw a rival. We were big time. And then we got the head coach at Temple, who was oft chided at by one of the biggest national bloggers (slash Gators fan) in all the land for his time at Florida. His two year record at Temple was far from overwhelming and, in a pile of dirt in the face, he had the BC assistants who had scurried from the S.S. Spazoo.

We sent Santa our wishlist, saw a present wrapped in Mom and Dad's closet, and then didn't get our Red Ryder BB gun. And we threw a tantrum without thinking about where we stood.

Reflection Has Made It Better
Most didn't like the Ryan Day baggage that Addazio brought with him - after all, it's a bit of a joke in the BC blogosphere, most of it out of love, aimed at ATL's premature report a few years ago. Other than that, the reaction has been turning. His press conference yesterday was solid, and when you get into the numbers of his time at Temple (and their odd scheduling through conference changes), everything is not surface. He is going to change a few things about BC's last 15 years of football:

We are going to rely on more than BC to recruit - the system and Addazio himself will be factors that get kids in, and kids who may not have considered BC before. This won't all be about developing 2/3 stars and selling BC to "Guys who could be BC guys".
The defense is going to be aggressive, not in deep back mode. As was pointed out on Deadspin, we had six sacks all year - when there were more than 500 times that teams recorded seven or more in a game. I'm not upset about this change at all.

Whatever happened with the MAC guys, Diaco or Golden, that's passed. People will dwell, because that's what message boards are for, but there seems to be at least a mindset now of, "You won the press. Great. Now go win some football games." Because that's what this is about.

We Would Have Shot Our Eye Out

This is the important part of where I've come to after that reflection. BC football is in a bad place. Like, really bad. Spaz's mismanagement on the field, dismissal of seniors who could offer leadership and pushing around of staff (respect his privacy) really put us down in a hole. Anything is better. No. Seriously. Anything.

If we got what we wanted, though, the reality of the situation may not have been immediately clear. There would be premature talk of what would happen and what we expected in the near future. It was already happening in the boards and community - Think of the guys Golden could bring with him from Miami! Diaco could be recruiting from the sidelines of the national championship! - and we would have lost sight of where we are right now.

The expectations for Addazio are in line with what is realistic and actually can happen. BC will get better under him, and probably noticeably against the record even next season - while we aren't sure how scheduling, the capsule or divisions will change next year, the addition of Syracuse in the place of what likely would have been UNC ain't too shabby. We wouldn't be out of place to think that a few pieces and coaching could get BC to .500 and a bowl. That's a positive direction from where we are. Keep that in mind.

I know that many have said that Bates is now tied to this hire in his legacy, but I will tell you, that would have been true no matter who he hired. If we get back to where we were in the beginning of the decade, that is success for now and probably the next few seasons. If Bates made the big hire who could only achieve the same thing? THEN I'd be pissed.

This is an arbitrage move that would make the Tampa Bay Rays proud.

If our results are going to initially be the same - I don't think even Belichik could take next year's talent to the National Championship - it isn't a good investment to buy the shiny thing at this price point right now. If it failed, we'd be saying he wasted our money on a long, expensive contract for results that were available cheaper.

We're being unfair to Bates now, but we would have been even more unfair to Golden or Diaco if they failed - and while they are sexy hires, they are still unproven. Golden is under .500. Diaco hasn't been a head coach. It very well could have backfired.

What Now.

Football season is nine months away. We'll be watching quotes from Chase Rettig and tracking his whereabouts, and determine if and how he fits into Addy's schemes. We'll see if Ryan Day is a different Ryan Day than the one who was here under Spaz.

But the only thing we can do? Wait until the fall and see how he does on the field.

BATES & HIS DOPPELGANGER

2012-12-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

Brad Bates even looks like an Eagle. How do you not love it (and I'm not wrong)?

Boy, did we turn around fast on the "Who is this guy?" to "We love what he's doing with this search?"

THE ATLANTIC BLUEGRASS STATE CONFERENCE

2012-11-28T08:51:00.001-05:00

ACC, just name the divisions FOOTBALL and BASKETBALL. FB: BC, Clem, FSU, GT, Mia, VT, UVA. BB: Duke, UNC, Wake, NCS, ND, Ville, Cuse, Pitt
— Spilly (@IAmSpilly) November 28, 2012

These things keep happening. I just want to thank someone for calling us a "Football" school.

PUT THE PITCHFORKS AWAY FOR A SECOND

2012-11-26T08:33:00.003-05:00

If you're going to pick a day to lose to Bryant in hoops, the day that the BC fan base gets the four-year-old gift it has been dying for is a pretty good day to do it. Barring an announcement of a new coach in football soon, though, it won't be long before attention turns back to what has happened in the early parts of Donahue's third season on the Heights.

How much time does the Don get? Three seasons? Four seasons? BC was one of the first teams out of the NCAA in season number one, but there were seven seniors on that team (plus Reggie Jackson, who would leave early). There was no depth behind those players, and last season, it shouldn't have been surprising that the team didn't have their act together. They were young - 9 freshmen! - and inexperienced.

Next year, the expectations can change, but this year, we really have to treat it like Donahue's second season. He's starting a mostly green lineup, but I do like the starting five, even if they are all underclassmen. Olivier Hanlan looks solid, and the healthy Ryan Anderson we saw at the beginning of the season could be a beast. There still isn't much down the bench to spell these guys, but it will get better.

So put the pitchforks away, and let's just spend one season not calling for a coach's head. Ok? We've done that enough for a lifetime courtesy of the football program and I think we could all use a break.

SPAZ WATCH: OPEN THREAD

2012-11-25T08:17:00.002-05:00

Sometime in the next day or two, we'll likely learn the fate of Spaz. If he isn't fired, I may have to join the priesthood, depending on how much you feel like holding me to tweeted threats. Discussion here as you need for celebration and or taking of vows.

Update: Consummatum est, around 5:30 p.m. Presser tonight, we move on starting now.

THE BIG EAST REUNION TOUR

2012-11-20T11:13:00.001-05:00

Really quick, because even I'm sick of conference stuff.

My thoughts and mild guarantees:

With about 95 % certainty, UConn, based on geography, hoops and its academic ranking, is going to be the next team into the ACC.
A divisional realignment will absolutely happen, reuniting the 2003 version of Big East + Virginia. Sorry 'Hoos. Thus, basically, it's a playoff between the Old Big East and the Old ACC for a major bowl spot.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a lifeline for hoops to keep old rivalries together and get the league 16. Probably Georgetown or Villanova (with the idea that 'Nova could go FBS if ND caved and joined a conference).

ALMOST OVER

2012-11-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

This time, two weeks from now, we may be past this all. Just keep it together for now, mm kay?

WHY THIS ISN'T 93 OR 02...IT'S BIZARRO 2007

2012-11-09T12:08:00.000-05:00

This is Matt Ryan in 2007 on the road in Notre Dame stadium, manning then #4 BC on the road to a closer-than-it-should-have-been win over the 1-5 Irish. I'm going to assume the ball was a perfect spiral. I like remembering things the way I prefer.

I want you to consider something: even though the scoreboard read BC 27-ND 17 as dusk settled over the Indiana sky, that game ruined BC's season.

***

But after we win, let's keep our excitement in the stands. Storming the field is about being an underdog, and Notre Dame is never an underdog against Boston College - regardless of our record. We should never expect to lose to Boston College. And when we beat them this weekend, let's act like we've done it before. -Bob Griffin, ND '07, ND Observer, October 9, 2007. N.b., author was an alum when this was published.

You knew they never believed it, to be honest. No matter how much an ND alum wanted you to think of it, the Weis backed ND squad in 2007 was in no shape to do much of anything against BC. There was a reason they only managed one win so far that season - on the road against UCLA the week prior. Representing their only 1-A win to date (since, well, ND doesn't play 1-AA), UCLA was in the final year of a head coach and down two QBs by late September before playing the Irish.

It wasn't a strong, confidence inspiring win with a top five team coming to town. So why the chest-beating? The baseline argument of Bob Griffin, et al was, of course, that ND still had the echoes to wake up. They had a bad taste in their mouth from 2002 and 1993 and finally - FINALLY! - had their chance to avenge their forefathers. And when they did, ooooooooh boy were they going to remind us where we stood.

It didn't happen. But they still broke something up: some lofty dreams in BC that perhaps the 23 years of football relevance had finally put us into a new category of perennial football schools.

***

Later that evening, #3 LSU would lose in Triple OT and #2 Cal would fall against Oregon State. BC would rise to #2 in the rankings and we couldn't believe it. Bowl predictions had us in the National Title game against Ohio State. Our rise to new football powerhouse was going to go through THE Ohio State. There were many moments left to happen that year - the miracles in Blacksburg and Clemson, the heartbreak against Florida State and the WTF against Maryland.

It wasn't the lofty ranking that sealed BC's fate to keep it out of the national title picture. The reason the season started to change was less gut and more reality: BC lost senior guard Ryan Poles, who had played a killer year to date, to an Achilles injury in that ND game. It meant that BC was going to have two guards: Ty Hall, a good option when surrounded by the deep line, and Cliff Ramsey, with all of three previous appearances in his four years at BC before 2007.

It changed BC's play calling, and it shouldn't be surprising that the fast Florida State was able to disrupt BC and hold them to 63 yards rushing. From there, the dream didn't have much steam left - and the month of November had its ups in Clemson before the blocked point after in the ACCCG kept BC away from the Oranges.

***

I haven't seen an editorial in the Heights this week that urges Superfans to stay in the stands in the event of a shocking win. Let's be honest, we'd rush the field - including from the Alumni corners where the old brats like me hang out. But that's kind of early thinking, if you ask me. BC is not really in a position to pull off an upset for the century, although if it happens, I'll be framing the Sports Illustrated cover along with the rest of you.

But that doesn't mean we can't ruin their season like they slowly did to ours in 2007. While we're being realistic, BC is not likely to win either of its two other games on the year, and that while a loss means sure ruin for Notre Dame, a win may create a slow death, too. ND has to keep up with the beast that is Alabama, and then K-State (in a weak Big-12) and Oregon (in a weak Pac-12) while navigating a finale with USC. Style points mean squat in a win over BC - the more we lose, the more the computers tell them they should have scheduled Georgetown if they were just going to push around a Jesuit school.

Just because Nate Silver is the media darling right now doesn't mean that BC ruining ND through math is worthy of a cover story. And sleep well, because a changing of the guard and a new philosophy under Brian Kelly is what brought ND to this moment. Perhaps, dreaming Eagles, our Brian Kelly is out there. BC has a few years until ND returns to Chestnut Hill, and by then, hopefully we can get back to being hopeful about non-magical upsets.

THE HARDEST PLACE TO WATCH A GAME: BOSTON

2012-10-30T08:55:00.001-04:00

A few years ago, there was an awesome piece on ESPN Boston about BC alums who joined together every week in Chicago to watch the football team week after week. Of course, it was 2009, there was a little more motivation to actually watch the football team, but there's a point bigger than the sport here:

Boston College kind of said, 'We think we can bring a crowd,'" Collins said. "We really didn't think it was going to be a big thing. We were floored. It was wall-to-wall Boston College fans. I had no idea there were that many Eagles fans in Chicago. I was shocked." Just like that, Trinity Bar became the headquarters for Boston College fans in Chicago.

I lived in Washington DC for almost five years, and that story could be repeated there. When Porter's shut down a few years ago, we became an Alumni Association looking for a place to fill on Saturdays. Finally settled again back at the new bar that opened at the spot, I look forward to what will happen this weekend for the Wake game. I can actually count on people being there when I visit.

I've been to Gallagher's in Phoenix while visiting my folks over the holidays - the crowd there for the USC Emerald Bowl a few years ago was great. I stopped in Shanghai Kelly's after the Nevada Emerald Bowl in SF. These are great communities that have been built around a common factor.

And here in Boston, where I now live and have always kind of called home, BC game watches are next-to-non-existent. It came up in the comments on ATL's weekly Game Watch post, too: how the hell are we in such ridiculous places around town (like Ducali, where the chapter will be again this Saturday, in theory).

Talking with some people who work in the leadership of the Chapter, and we'll all admit it. The big reasons:

Restricted to away games. While not every BC alum/supporter in town has tickets to Alumni, if you really were going to carve time out on Saturday to watch the team, it's not like it's expensive. This leads to another problem.
Lack of a “BC Bar” in the city. Big Ten schools have bars they can call their own, and even Notre Dame has a bar in the heart of the city that is always populated. Given the fact that BC can't commit on a weekly basis, bars aren't going to give us a "Most Favored Nation" status.
Network Not Needed. The other reason to get to game watches is to reconnect and find friendly faces in the city. Too many alums in Boston that don’t need the “networking” aspect of a game watch since they have their own friends to watch with if they feel like it, and it isn't exactly hard to run ·
Geography Issues. People stay close to their own neighborhood if they live in the city; Boston's public transit isn't always ideal to drive people to a central location. Big bars are in Seaport or Fenway, not all of which are quick trips depending on where people live.

There may be a home town crowd gathering at Cityside or Roggie's during the ND game, but it's just as likely to be Irish fans (as was the case with Clemson fans who didn't have tickets a few weeks back).

This is a long way of saying, "there's a reason we don't make ATL's game watch list". Not excuses, just a different community. We had a hell of a crowd for the Frozen Four.

HOCKEY LADIES GET THEIR OWN GOLD

2012-10-25T18:20:00.004-04:00

Here's one for you - know any schools that have a different third jersey for their men's and women's hockey teams?

Little different than the menfolk, no? Obviously, I'm curious to see the back above the nameplate where the men have stars for the national championships. I've never looked close enough to see if the women's jersey's carry those stars, or if there is room for them to add their own.

(Via freshmen defender Kaliya Johnson)

DIVINE COMEDY

2012-10-11T08:38:00.001-04:00

Among the many Jesuits I met in eight years of AMDG education, Fr. O'Malley was one of my favorites. He was a legend, a former president of two other Jesuit universities during his career and my freshmen seminar class professor. When he passed away a few years ago, several of my other classmates who shared that table with me and Fr. O'Malley were all saddened by the news and shared some of our favorite memories.

I had two. One was of course his complete recitation, in original Greek, of the passage in the Iliad from which BC copped its "Ever to Excel" motto:

He sent me to Troy, telling me repeatedly to strive ever to excel, to outdo other warriors, so I do not shame my father's family.

Among the other memorable readings and passages from a year of that class was the time we spent on all three parts of the Divine Comedy. The Inferno, with its levels of hell and images of Judas, Brutus and Cassius, is always easy to remember. Yet the whole Comedy, taken as the trio that it is, has greater meaning. The fact of the matter was that Dante must heed Vergil's advice to experience hell before making it to paradise; Fr. O'Malley was a tad less subtle when it came to telling some 18-year-olds that things weren't always going to be easy, but that rewards wait.

The Eagle outside the locker room does not say, "Abandon hope all ye who enter here". It says, "By touching this Eagle, you remember those who came before you and promise to set an example for those to come." We are Boston College. We quote Dante to make points about our football team. And we are going to come out the other side.

OH NO: WE'VE BEEN UNDER ARMOURED

2012-10-08T15:52:00.000-04:00

This came from Nick Clancy's Twitter feed and, he noted (jokingly?!), they are for the Maryland game on October 27. Luckily, no one will be attending and/or watching:

Update: These are in fact for real and will be part of the BC tribute to the Wounded Warriors Project, which is a very, very worthy cause.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR ACC TO BUILD A HOCKEY CONFERENCE

2012-09-13T08:57:00.001-04:00

Perhaps you heard - Notre Dame is joining the ACC almost completely in all of its sporting endeavors. 20 of the schools 22 programs will be making their way into the regular schedule for everything from basketball through Olympic sports like soccer, women's field hockey, baseball, softball, among others. I mean, it's no 31 programs like BC currently has, but you do what you can.

Last year around this time, the Irish were busy announcing another conference change - in Hockey. Left in no man's land by way of the Big Ten hockey deal and the banding together of the best squads in the CCHA and WCHA, Notre Dame found their way into HockeyEast. They will now share almost every sport with the Eagles as conference mates in all but football. Notre Dame is now the only other school with a hockey program in the ACC - but that means we are a third of the way there for an ACC hockey conference of our own.

Let's start with some of our other new conference members. Syracuse has long been prime to join the NCAA hockey ranks. They have a minor league team and facility in town and enough upstate talent to certainly justify both men's and women's clubs - just a little investment a la a legacy gift like Penn State got, and we're up to three. Tap on Pitt, too, who probably would do anything to get attention off of Sunseri and the Todd Graham fiasco - as well as a great relationship with a town that has become hockey crazed again thanks to the Penguins and a new arena.

What would it take to get two more schools to join in? I mean, those other schools would maybe have to give up investment in other programs to keep balance of scholarships in tact under Title IX, but how hard can that be? NC State and Maryland are right near towns with NHL franchises, NC State carries a varsity Rifle squad and the Terps could probably shelf another few programs (they did cut eight at the end of last year) to make it happen.

It's just all so easy. I don't see why it hasn't happened yet.

UPDATE: We only need two more, as reader Leather_D points out on Twitter. May as well start planning the 2014-15 schedule now.

THE PIKE SIGN CHANGES OVER

2012-09-05T12:49:00.002-04:00

Aw, it even got the five stars treatment, too:

Meh, we're only two days short of five months. I'm still all for the rotating Jerry York statue next time we change it.