: ''For information on all Boston University sports, see Boston University Terriers'' The Boston University Terriers football team was the

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team for

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

located in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The school's first football team was fielded in 1884, and the program was discontinued in 1997. The Terriers football team compiled an all-time record of 323–390–34. The team competed in

NCAA Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

from its formation in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, as members of the Yankee Conference and later the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

. Boston University terminated the varsity football program on

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

weekend in 1997, during a one-win season in the Atlantic 10. Players were allowed to keep their four-year scholarships or transfer without NCAA penalties. At the time of its termination the program ran at an annual loss of $2.91 million. Boston University has used the former football scholarships to comply with

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

requirements. Boston University still fields a

club football This is a list of post-secondary colleges and universities that have club football teams. Operating independently of their colleges' athletics programs, these teams are typically administered, coached, and played by students. In addition to playi ...

squad in the modern Yankee Conference.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: *

Harry Agganis Aristotle George "Harry" Agganis (April 20, 1929 – June 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was an American college football player and professional baseball player. After passing up a potential professional football career, he played in M ...

: Quarterback;

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

player; namesake of the Agganis Arena * Bill Brooks: Wide Receiver,

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

1986–92,

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

1993–95,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

1996 *

Butch Byrd George Edward "Butch" Byrd (born September 20, 1941) is a former professional American football defensive back. He started his career playing college football at Boston University. He joined the Buffalo Bills in 1964 and immediately made an imp ...

: Running Back and Pass Receiver,

Defensive Back 1964–1970,

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

1971 *

Dick Farley Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

: Defensive Back,

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

1968–69; Hall of Fame coach,

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

Darvell Huffman Darvell Huffman (born May 5, 1967) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Boston University and was drafted in the ninth round of the 1990 NFL D ...

: Wide Receiver,

1990–91 * Pat Hughes: Linebacker,

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

1970–76,

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

1977–79 * Jim "Crash" Jensen: Quarterback, Wide Receiver,

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

1981–92 * Kevin Murphy:

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

player *

Gene Prebola Eugene Nicholas Prebola (June 30, 1938 – December 10, 2021) was an American football tight end who played four seasons in the American Football League (AFL) with the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the ...

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

player * Reggie Rucker: Wide Receiver,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

1969–71,

1971,

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

1971–74,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

1975–81 * Bruce Taylor: Defensive Back,

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

1970–77

Championships

† denotes co-championship.

Division I-AA Playoffs results

The Terriers appeared in the I-AA playoffs five times with a record of 2–5.

Bowl games

The Terriers had a record of 0–1 in

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s. Boston University appeared in one bowl game during their tenure. As a member of the College Division, they played against a member of the University Division in the Pasadena Bowl.

References

1884 establishments {{cite news , last1=Moran , first1=Malcolm , title=COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Banned in Boston: One Football Team; At B.U., a Century of Pigskin History Is Coming to a Sudden, and Painful, End , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/02/sports/college-football-banned-boston-one-football-team-bu-century-pigskin-history.html , access-date=23 June 2022 , work=New York Timesin Massachusetts 1997 disestablishments in Massachusetts American football teams established in 1884 American football teams disestablished in 1997