Boston University Terriers

Infobox college athletics
name = Boston University Terriers

university = Boston University
conference = America East Conference, Hockey East for ice hockey
division = Division I-A
director = Mike Lynch
city = Boston
state = Massachusetts
stateabb = MA
teams = 21 varsity teams (9 men, 12 women)
stadium = Nickerson Field
arena = Agganis Arena
mascot = Rhett the Boston Terrier
nickname = Terriers
fightsong = GO B.U.
color1 = Scarlet
color2 = White
hex1 = FF2400
hex2 = FFFFFF
pageurl = http://goterriers.cstv.com/
pagename = goterriers.cstv.com/

The Boston University Terriers are the nine men's and twelve women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. The men compete in basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, and wrestling. Women compete in basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, and softball. There is no varsity baseball team, but Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox are nearby.

Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, (Boston Terriers of course) and the official mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. The school colors are Scarlet and White.

Terrier Hockey

Boston University's Hockey team has appeared the second most NCAA Frozen Fours (Hockey's Final Four) (20 times in 27 tournament appearances). In all, BU has won 4 National Championships and 5 runner-up trophies since the NCAA hockey tournament began in 1948. The Terriers play in the Hockey East Conference, along with crosstown arch-rivals Boston College. The series with Boston College is known as the Green Line Rivalry or the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue. Under long-time coach and former player, Jack Parker, BU excelled in the 90's, winning four of ten Hockey East regular season titles (and sharing two more), the 1995 National Championship and 3 National runner-up trophies. Every year the four major Boston area schools, BU, BC, Northeastern and Harvard meet at the TD Banknorth Garden for a mid-season tournament called the Beanpot. The televised tourney is a local institution, and a fierce battle for bragging rights. As of 2008, the Terriers have won 28 of 56 Beanpots and 11 of the last 14.

Other Varsity Sports

For most other sports, BU competes in the America East Conference (formerly called the North Atlantic Conference). The Men's Basketball team has earned post-season berths in the NCAA tournament or NIT in each of the last 4 years (2002-2005).They are known to have a rivalry with the Maine Black Bears and the Vermont Catamounts.The Program is notable for grooming big name college coaches such as Rick Pitino and Mike Jarvis. The Terriers also have a history of national success in men's and women's soccer, field hockey, and women's lacrosse. The men's and women's rowing teams compete in the EARC and EAWRC respectively, the oldest and most competitive conference in collegiate rowing. In 1991 and 1992 women's rowing won back to back national championships.

Dropping Football

Boston University terminated their DI-AA football program on Homecoming Weekend 1997 during a one-win season in the Atlantic 10. The controversial decision was made worse by the timing of the announcement. The decision was especially painful for alumni and students who felt a national university needed a football team to be credible as a "major" college. The players at the time were allowed to keep their 4-year scholarships or transfer without NCAA penalties. The University has used the former-football scholarships to comply with Title IX requirements. Since dropping football, BU has improved its facilities for other sports, including hockey, assuaging critics' concerns that football was dropped as part of a plan to neglect athletics. BU has rejected efforts to revive the program citing the lack of support from a local fan base. Proponents often argue that a football revival would increase alumni contributions, exceeding potential program losses.

New Facilities

In 2005, Boston University opened Agganis Arena for Hockey and Basketball. The facility was designed as a hockey arena: a departure from BU's Walter Brown Arena which had the smallest playing ice in Division I. Agganis Arena seats six to seven thousand, and also serves the city of Boston as a mid-size venue for popular events that could not fill the 19,000+ seat TD Banknorth Garden (previously the Fleet Center). The arena is named after Harry Agganis, "The Golden Greek," BU alumnus, Terrier sports star, Boston Red Sox first baseman, and Boston native who died of a pulmonary embolism in 1955 at the age of 26.

Other facilities include the indoor Track and Tennis Center and the Fitness and Recreation Center, which includes a pool and diving well for the swim teams. The 200 meter indoor track is modelled on the previous high-banked armory track, which attracted programs looking to run fast times. The turns, banked up to 18.5 degrees help runners push through turns at normal speed and rhythm, and can produce many personal indoor bests. The Track and Tennis Center hosts the annual BU Invitational.

Outdoor track, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and other outdoor sports continue to be played on the artificial surface of Nickerson Field.

External links

* [http://www.bu.edu/athletics/ BU Athletics Home Page]
* [http://www.burugby.com Boston University Men's Rugby]