BC Eagles Soar with $1.25 Million Donation

Over the past five seasons, the Boston College Eagles have been soaring. However, thanks to Eagle ski team alumnus Jim Maher ’71, the program will be capable of even more.   

Maher has provided a $1.25 million gift to endow a full-time head coach position for the BC ski team. As a result, the ski racing community is anticipating the name of the new Eagles head coach. The additional resources will undoubtedly increase the depth of Boston College’s candidate pool.

“This historic gift from Jim Maher will have a profound and lasting impact on our Boston College ski program for years to come,” said William V. Campbell, Director of Athletics Blake James. “We’re so appreciative of his incredible generosity and can’t thank him enough for his dedication to our student-athletes and the future success of our program.”

“As a BC graduate and former captain of the ski team, as well as the parent of a former skiing student-athlete, I am very proud and honored to be able to endow the ski head coaching position,” said Maher. “I hope this gift continues to help advance BC’s ski program and I look forward to following the team in the years to come as it builds on the tremendous momentum of the last few seasons.”

BC Eagles soaring

The Eagles have indeed experienced improved results over the last five seasons. Notably, BC qualified their first-ever athlete for the NCAA nationals in 2018. Since then, BC has sent seven more athletes over the following four years. During the 2022 season, they qualified their first freshman, Chiara Maria Ferrari, for the NCAA Championships- all accomplishments worthy of recognition for any NCAA Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) program. 

One of the signs of the team’s progress is the number of athletes scoring in the University Carnivals. Ferrari finished the 2022 season with an EISA rank of 16th in GS. In addition, Lauren Hunter and Morgan Ellis contributed hard-earned EISA points for the Eagles. Not to be left out in 2022, the BC men also made an EISA impact. This past season Matthew Smallhouse, Spencer Wright, Zachary Simmons, Ben Charleston, Trent Gutstein and William Kornya all contributed points to the Eagles’ team total. Already, 2023 looks like another strong season as the Eagles will have all the scoring athletes returning except Wright and Gutstein. 

Co-Captian Ellis shares her thoughts

Morgan Ellis is a BC Eagle co-captain from Sugar Bowl Ski Academy.

I have enjoyed my time as a student-athlete at BC. However, I am definitely stoked about the growth that will take place within the program. I believe that the program will benefit tremendously from the endowment. 

The Boston College Ski team has lots of potentials to attract fast skiers. It is close to Boston and BC has a highly competitive D1 athletics program. School spirit is everything at BC, especially in sports, and it’s awesome to be a part of such a strong and dedicated student-athlete body.

The BC ski team is a very close-knit group of hard-working individuals. We push each other to be the best versions of ourselves. Whether on the hill, in the gym, or the classroom, we are always willing to help each other. My teammates are some of my best friends and role models with whom I learn, laugh, and make memories daily.

I am incredibly excited about the improvements in the program. I believe things will only continue to go up from here. We must emphasize recruiting and maximizing access to good training to continue the program’s progression.

Senior Co-Captian Bianchi sees growing potential

Co-captain John Bianchi is a BC senior from Killington Mountain School.

We’ve cultivated a group of people who genuinely care about each other. I’m heading into my senior year and have essentially witnessed the team double in size. Additionally, It has reached a never-before-seen level of competitiveness. It is incredible to know my teammates have the opportunity, and support, to achieve their goals on the hill and in the classroom. This endowment is vital to the team because it’s another factor in our program’s growth. The endowment is a resource that supplements the support we get from BC athletics. It will significantly help BC skiing to continue to attract talented athletes and coaches.

As a team member, I am excited about my final year with a new coach but I am more excited about the years to come and the future athletes that will benefit from this endowment. Ultimately, an essential part of our progression over the past few years is attributable to our focus on attracting good people and good skiers. The recruiting process is always a top priority.