Applicants from South increasing

Three-fourths of the students at Boston College have little memory of the University's stint in the Big East, but a dwindling group may recall the controversy that arose in 2003: BC was moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference, leaving behind a conference it had helped found.

In defense of its decision, Boston College argued that the move would benefit not only the athletics department, but would help boost the school both academically and financially. "It opened us up to the largest growing part of the country, the Sunbelt region," said Athletic Director Gene De Filippo.

The move would place the University among some of the nation's most prominent NCAA teams, double the income of the University's athletic teams, dramatically increase corporate sponsorships and fundraising, and promise a competitive football program for another 50 years.

Four years down the road, some of these promised returns are starting to come to fruition: The number of students applying to BC from ACC states is on the rise.

The 11 other members of the ACC include Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. This means BC now plays schools that sprawl up and down the East Cost, drawing prospective students from a demographic that, prior to the move, had been relatively untouched.

Formerly, competitive play in the Big East once confined BC to the Northeast. Now, as the Eagles travel up and down the coast, BC athletics are gaining recognition in new regions.

"There's been a definite improvement in the way that we're perceived nationally," De Filippo said. "That's evident by the number of television exposures that we've gotten and by the number of great recruits and student athletes that want to come to BC."

According to De Filippo, this means that the athletics department is doing its job.

"The job of the athletics department is to provide name recognition and exposure for the institution, and we've been able to market our institution much better on a national basis than we had as a member of the Big East," De Filippo said.

John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admissions, confirmed that applications from students in ACC states have risen. But applications are not the only thing the ACC has reeled in.

"Being in the ACC has opened opportunities for athletics in the South," De Filippo said. "Recruiting there has been terrific for us because we're playing games there now. We're able to get in with players in sports that we've never had a chance to recruit before, and in soccer, football, and basketball."

BC also has the unique distinction of being a private Catholic university. "We're the only Catholic Jesuit institution in the ACC, so for kids interested in a private Catholic Jesuit education, BC's stock is going to rise in those states," Mahoney said.

Yet Mahoney said that the increase in applications cannot be directly correlated with the University's move to a new athletic conference.

"You have to be careful attributing [increasing applications] solely to our participation in the ACC. If you look at the U.S. in terms of its four major regions … the South is arguably the fastest growing part of the country for the college-going population. The number of 18-year-olds is growing in that part of the country. That said, Boston College's exposure in those markets is certainly giving us increased visibility," Mahoney said.

"I think we would have seen increases anyway," he said, "but some of them can be attributed to our increased market presence."

BC now competes with prestigious public schools such as North Carolina and Virginia. The appeal of these universities may prevent increasing applications from the Sunbelt from having a dramatic effect on the makeup of the BC student body.

"You have to remember the strength of the public institutions … these are very strong state institutions with great reputations and admitted students are obviously going to be able to attend those institutions for lower tuition," Mahoney said.

Mahoney, citing other factors that may prevent BC's Southern population from growing too rapidly, said, "We know that the majority of students going to college stay within 100 miles of their home."

Though the increasing number of applicants from the South may not be exponential, concrete benefits from the BC have already been garnered.

"I think the obvious benefits are that you're talking about a group of very prestigious institutions and there are opportunities for the sharing of resources," Mahoney said. Though the members of the Big East did join forces informally, the ACC "seems to be more formal opportunities for collaboration."

In addition, being in a conference with research universities such as Duke has afforded BC new opportunities for sharing ideas.

Mahoney said, "The ACC is really interested in cultivating their image as more than just an athletic conference."

Regardless of whether the Southern presence at BC makes for a dramatic shift in student demographics, the predicted benefits of joining the ACC have been realized in some ways. In addition to boosting the University financially and placing it among academically powerful universities, BC is increasing its exposure to regions of the country where a few years ago, the question, "what's the difference between BC and BU" elicited little more than a shrug.