The Boston College–Holy Cross football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Boston College Eagles and Holy Cross Crusaders.
Though the rivalry has been largely dormant since the 1980s, it was once contested annually as a season-ending game that "determined the best team in New England", as one player recalled. As of 2018, even after not playing each other for more than 30 years, each school was still the other's all-time most-played football opponent. The two teams have met 84 times; Boston College leads the series 50–31–3.
In 2012, Wally Carew wrote a book about the rivalry, "A Farewell to Glory: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Football Rivalry".
History
In 1896, Holy Cross and Boston College played the first football game between the two schools, starting one of the most storied rivalries in college football.
Part of the rivalry's intensity stems from the school's shared tradition as Roman Catholic, Jesuit colleges—in fact, both were founded by the same bishop, Benedict Joseph Fenwick. The rivalry is also geographic, as the two schools are located 41 miles apart from each other in Massachusetts, and represent the state's two largest cities.
For much of the early to mid-20th century, Boston College and Holy Cross drew some of New England's largest sports crowds. To accommodate larger crowds, Boston College would schedule its Holy Cross home dates at larger venues off campus, with the 1916 matchup taking place at the Boston Red Sox' newly constructed Fenway Park. A record 54,000 attended the 1922 game at Braves Field, home of the Boston Braves baseball team. Additionally both schools participated in the round-robin series with Boston University for the Sacred Cod Trophy.
The rivalry was relatively evenly matched through the mid-1960s; by the end of 1966, Boston College held a slight edge in victories, 31–28, with 3 ties.
Decline
By the mid-1970s, however, it was clear that the rivalry was no longer competitive, as Boston College had reeled off nine straight victories, six of them by margins of 20 points or more.
The split in athletic aspirations became apparent in 1978, when the NCAA divided Division I into two groupings for football: the premier Division I-A (now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision) and the second-tier Division I-AA (now known as the Football Championship Subdivision). Initially, both Boston College and Holy Cross competed as Division I-A independents, but BC's schedule featured matchups with "power conference" teams, while most of Holy Cross' opponents were from the Ivy League or from Division I-AA.
After the 1981 season, the NCAA voted to reclassify both Holy Cross and its Ivy League opponents as Division I-AA schools. This left Boston College as the only remaining Division I-A school in New England, granting it a recruiting tool to attract prospective athletes wishing to play at the highest level and hoping to get noticed by National Football League scouts.
As a I-A school, Boston College was increasingly out of place on Holy Cross' schedule, which consisted largely of I-AA Ivy League and Yankee Conference members. Holy Cross had also turned coeducational in 1970 without expanding its student body, thereby cutting its male population in half.
By 1980, the Holy Cross rivalry game was no longer part of Boston College's student ticket package, and was mostly attended by alumni.
In 1987, BC wide receiver Darren Flutie—who had caught his first collegiate touchdown in a Holy Cross game in 1984, from his brother, former BC quarterback Doug Flutie—acknowledged that the rivalry was no longer competitive.
"I think the intensity is there, because so much is said and written during BC-Holy Cross week," Darren Flutie said. "But it was definitely a game we think is an automatic win. It was a chance to show we could dominate. We could show how much stronger we are than a Division I-AA school."
Boston College outscored Holy Cross in the final five 1980s games, 221–60, but BC head coach Jack Bicknell said he didn't take them for granted.
"You know, I never thought our series was a mismatch," he said. "Holy Cross always was competitive and well coached."
Cancelation
Following nine years of losses, including six consecutive blowouts, the Rev. John E. Brooks, Holy Cross' president, announced in February 1987 that he would end the annual rivalry. Brooks said the change was "to provide Holy Cross coaches and players with an opportunity to compete in an environment that encourages balance and fair competition."