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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/MannOSteel on 2024-08-01 18:06:51+00:00.
For those who don’t know, the northeastern private schools dominated college football up until WWII, when many programs were de-emphasized or even shuttered altogether in the late 40s and 50s.
Most of the private programs that remained eventually moved to 1-AA after the Division I football split in 1978… except for Boston College. With that in mind, why did the Eagles decide to remain at the top level while other programs- such as Villanova and Holy Cross- didn’t? It would’ve made sense for BC to de-emphasize alongside its peer Catholic and Jesuit institutions, especially after it joined the Big East.
Was it simply that they were more committed than others to football, who became known as basketball schools? Is it because they were closer to Syracuse, which was also a private (albeit larger) institution that had a storied football history?