Happy Time: Skinner, Sportsmanship and ACC Football Perception

Happy time!

No BC birthdays of significance today, but another Thursday will be here before we get to this one, so Happy Birthday to BC men's hoops coach Al Skinner (June 16). Skinner is the all-time winningest men's hoops coach (and highest paid) in Boston College history. We hope that for Al's birthday he can return the Eagles to a respectable finish in ACC basketball next season. If you end up getting Skinner a birthday present, be sure not to shop at Eastern Clothing of Watertown. I'm told he owns every suit they sell.

Happy Anniversary to BC receiving the "feel-good" ACC Sportsmanship School of the Year Award. On this day one year ago, Boston College was declared the overall winner of the award for the 2006-2007 seasons having won the award for 8 of the 25 ACC-sanctioned sports. Those sports? Football, volleyball, women's basketball, men and women's swimming and diving, softball, men's tennis, and men's outdoor track & field. The award is given to teams that exhibit a high degree of character and sportsmanship and is determined by a vote of players and coaches. Nice partying gift since we didn't come away with any ACC championships last year?

Happy Trails to the poor national perception of ACC football? Southern Pigskin ran this article that lists the non-traditional out-of-conference ACC matchups that the conference needs to win to right the sinking ship that is the football conference's national perception. No BC games on the list which is somewhat curious, although they may save face with labeling these "non-traditional" matchups. That is, if you consider Notre Dame v. Boston College football a tradition. The rest of our out-of-conference schedule remains relatively weak - Rhode Island, Kent State and Central Florida.

While I agree it's important to win these early season out-of-conference games, I still maintain that the most important thing for ACC football is to win our bowl matchups. Maybe if the conference helped us get the best teams in the best bowl games (read: BC to the Peach Bowl last year, not sending BC to Boise a few years ago) instead of pandering to the whims of television and bowl committees, the ACC would have a better record in non-BCS bowl games?