The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing

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 cam ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. The

school colors School colors (also known as university colors or college colors) are the colors chosen by a school as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms of sports teams. They can promote connect ...

are Scarlet and White. The mascot is named Rhett after Rhett Butler from '' Gone With the Wind'', because "no one loves Scarlet more than Rhett." The majority of BU's teams compete as members of the Patriot League, with the ice hockey teams competing in

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 fo ...

and rowing competing in the EARC.

Conference change

On July 1, 2013, Boston University left the America East Conference and joined the Patriot League.

Sports sponsored

Boston University is one of 4 NCAA Division I schools to not sponsor at least one of women's volleyball or baseball (The other 3 being Detroit Mercy, Drexel, and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

Ice hockey

Boston University's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

team is the most successful sports program at the school, with five national championships (1971, 1972, 1978, 1995, 2009) and 21 appearances in the Frozen Four. The Terriers have also been the national runners-up five times, and have won five ECAC tournament championships and seven Hockey East tournament championships. Many of BU's hockey players have gone on to successful careers in the NHL. Since 1984 the Terriers have played in the

conference, along with crosstown arch-rivals Boston College (BC). The series with Boston College is known as the

Green Line Rivalry The Green Line Rivalry, also known as the B-Line Rivalry, the Battle of Boston and Battle of Commonwealth Avenue, is the name for the sports rivalry between Boston College and Boston University. The rivalry is named after the Green Line, a ligh ...

or the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue. Under long-time coach and former player, Jack Parker, BU excelled in the 1990s, winning six Hockey East regular season titles, four Hockey East tournament titles, the 1995 National Championship and three National runner-up trophies. BU missed the Frozen Four for 11 consecutive seasons beginning in 1998 but returned to glory by winning the national championship in 2009. BU has dominated the annual

Beanpot A beanpot is a deep, wide-bellied, short-necked vessel used to cook bean-based dishes. Beanpots are typically made of ceramic, though some are made of other materials, such as cast iron. The relatively narrow mouth of the beanpot minimizes evap ...

tournament, which has been contested by the four Boston metro area-based collegiate teams – the others being BC, Northeastern and Harvard – since the 1952–53 season. The televised tourney is a local institution, played in front of annual sellouts at the TD Garden, and is a fierce battle for bragging rights. As of 2010, the Terriers have won 29 of 58 Beanpots and 12 of the last 16.

Other varsity sports

For most other sports, BU competes in the Patriot League. The men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team earned post-season berths in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

tournament or NIT four straight seasons between 2002 and 2005 and also in 2011. They are known to have a rivalry with the Albany Great Danes and the Vermont Catamounts. The program is notable for grooming big name college coaches such as Rick Pitino,

Mike Jarvis Michael D. Jarvis (born April 12, 1945) is an American college basketball coach most recently as head men's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University. He has coached at Boston University, George Washington University and St. John's Univers ...

, and

Patrick Chambers Patrick Brian Chambers (born December 13, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and is the current head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is formerly the head men's basketball coach at Penn State and Boston University. Biography ...

. The Terriers also have a history of national success in men's and women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

, and

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...

. 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 the women's rowing team won back-to-back national championships.

Championships

National team championships

*Men's (5) **

Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

(5): 1971, 1972, 1978, 1995, 2009 *Women's (2) ** Rowing- Varsity Eight (2): 1991, 1992

Conference championships

Men's conference championships *Hockey (16): 1965, 1967, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2017 - Tournament (14): 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2018 *Basketball (8): 1980, 1983, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2014 - Tournament (7): 1983, 1988, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2011, 2020 *Football (5): 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1993 *Lacrosse (1): 2022 - Tournament (1): 2022 *Soccer (12): 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014 - Tournament (7): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2008 *Tennis (4): 1988, 1993, 1994, 1996 *Swimming & Diving (2): 1993, 2013 *Cross Country (11): 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2010 Women's conference championships *Hockey (2): 2011, 2013 - Tournament (5): 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 *Basketball (3): 1988, 2009, 2012 - Tournament (3): 1988, 1989, 2003 *Soccer (12): 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 - Tournament (9): 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 *Lacrosse (6): 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012 - Tournament (9): 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 *Field Hockey (12): 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - Tournament (8): 1991, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 *Softball (8): 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 - Tournament (9): 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 *Swimming & Diving (5): 1990, 1994, 2009, 2010, 2012 *Indoor Track & Field (13): 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014 *Outdoor Track & Field (3): 1993, 2008, 2014 *Cross Country (13): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014 *Golf (13): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014

New facilities

In 2005, Boston University opened Agganis Arena for Hockey and Basketball. The facility was designed as a hockey

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

: a departure from BU's

Walter Brown Arena Walter Brown Arena is a 3,806-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey team and hosted the men's team before they moved to Agganis Arena. It is named in honor of Walter A. ...

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 18,624 seat

TD Garden TD Garden is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after its sponsor, TD Bank, a subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Ontario. It opened in 1995 as a replacement for the original Boston Garden and has bee ...

(previously the Fleet Center). The arena is named after Harry Agganis, "The Golden Greek," BU alumnus, Terrier sports star,

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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, 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 Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

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. At the 2018 BU Valentine Invitational, Edward Cheserek ran a 3:49.44 mile to become the second-fastest indoor miler of all-time. Soccer and lacrosse are played on the artificial surface of Nickerson Field. Field hockey competes at New Balance Field.

Mascot

Rhett the Boston Terrier is the official costumed

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

of the

(BU) and the

Boston University Academy Boston University Academy (BUA) is a private high school operated by Boston University. Founded in 1993 and located on the Boston University campus, the academy is geared toward college preparatory work. As part of its integration with the unive ...

(BUA) Terriers. The Boston Terrier has been the BU mascot since 1922. The often snarling, bi-pedal black and white

Boston Terrier The Boston Terrier is a breed of dog originating in the United States of America. This "American Gentleman" was accepted in 1893 by the American Kennel Club as a non-sporting breed. Color and markings are important when distinguishing this breed f ...

was later named after the male lead in

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...

's '' Gone with the Wind'', because "No one loves Scarlett more than Rhett" referencing Rhett Butler's affection for

Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the ...

( scarlet is BU's primary color). In recent years Rhett has frequented Boston University games, events, and dining halls wearing his scarlet and white double-zero hockey jersey. Other outfits include a basketball jersey and a referee uniform (typically worn during the short youth hockey games that take place during ice hockey intermissions). However, he is also known to enjoy wearing his scarlet superhero cape when the occasion presents itself. Like all mascots, Rhett and the Terrier logo are ubiquitous at athletic events. The Terriers play varsity Division I intercollegiate sports in ten men's and twelve women's programs. Rhett's nemesis is Baldwin, the Boston College eagle. Rhett has participated in several

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

" This is SportsCenter" commercials and competed three times in the

Universal Cheerleading Association Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, ...

's mascot nationals, placing as high as fourth in 2002. He was also named an All-American in 1996 and "Boston's Top Mascot" in 1998. In 2006, BU's athletic logo featuring Rhett was altered slightly during a department-wide rebranding. Rhett's mascot character also received a makeover, favoring more cartoonish characteristics.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Patriot League