Boston University Hockey Jersey History: A Deep Dive into Tradition and Style
Hockey jerseys are more than just uniforms; they are symbols of team identity, history, and the passion of the fans. Hockey East, with its rich tradition and competitive spirit, boasts some of the most iconic and visually appealing jerseys in the college hockey landscape. Among these, the Boston University (BU) Terriers' jerseys hold a special place, steeped in history and tradition. Let's delve into the evolution of the Boston University hockey jersey, exploring its various designs, memorable moments, and the stories they tell.
The Essence of a Hockey Jersey
Before diving into the specifics of BU's jerseys, it's important to understand what makes a hockey jersey great. It's a combination of factors, including:
- Color Scheme: The colors should be visually appealing and representative of the team's identity.
- Logo and Lettering: The logo should be iconic and easily recognizable, while the lettering should be clear and well-designed.
- Stripes and Design: The striping pattern and overall design should be aesthetically pleasing and contribute to the jersey's overall look.
- History and Tradition: A jersey can be elevated by its association with memorable moments and legendary players.
A Look Back at Boston College Hockey Uniforms Throughout the Years
Boston College Athletics recently announced a 10-year partnership with New Balance for 30 of their 31 varsity sports, including men’s and women’s hockey. Warrior, a subsidiary of New Balance and a well known hockey brand, will be outfitting the hockey teams - so it should be pretty exciting to see what they’ll come up with!
Men’s 1960’s Throwbacks
When these were announced last year, the vintage logo, the clean white, the five stripe accent from the 60s - everything on this sweater is perfect. If there’s one thing to hope Warrior does, it’s to keep this exact design forever.
Women’s Gold Alternates
These are wonderful gold alternates. The emblem on the front is a favorite thing about this sweater, and it really sets the uniform apart from a lot of the other gold alternates. It’s also unique to the women’s hockey team.
Read also: Gridiron Showdown: Missouri vs. Boston College
Men’s Gold Alternates, 2012
The diagonal “Eagles” is the move.
Men’s Gold Alternates, Again!
The gold alternates prior to 2016 were superior to the primary uniforms. This one is nice - it can’t be decided if the white outline on the lettering is liked and think they might’ve looked cleaner without it, but it’s a nice distinguishable look.
Home Whites (2018-Present)
It’s a look that calls back to the two-toned sleeves of BC uniforms in the past, and looks clean while doing it. It was skeptical of these when they debuted in the fall of 2018 - it was gotten so used to the all-white sleeves from the years prior that it felt weird to have the bottom half a different color than the rest of the sweater, but the white contrasts cleanly with the darker shade of maroon and it looks good with the matching socks. These definitely grew on me!
Home Whites (I Think), At Some Point in the 2000s
The gold tone on these is loved. It’s more radiant than the pastel gold/yellow accents that have been on the jerseys for a while now and it’s cool! There is also a huge fan of the font. It is not usually a fan of gold helmets, but this entire ensemble is a look, and very 2000s.
Away Maroon, Circa 1997
This look does really remind of UMD (maroon & gold solidarity), but that might just be because this photo is around 23 years old and the coloring could potentially be off. Again, the gold shade on these is loved and think it really complements this specific shade of maroon. The all-gold Hockey East logo really pulls it all together.
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2014-2018 Primaries
These are just fine - it’s nothing to write home about, but it’s not like, bad. A little plain, but they get the job done!
Away Maroons, 2018-Present
It’s just the combination of this specific pastel gold with this specific maroon shade that is not the biggest fan of. The combination of pastel gold & maroon looks better in the uniform below from 2010, but it’s not sure if that’s the lighting or if it’s just a different shade of maroon. It might also be the abundance of pastel gold on the socks above that really sets this ensemble apart from 2010’s.
2012-2014 Primaries
These are similar to the ones right above in that they’re a bit plain, but I’m really not a huge fan of the stripes down the side, for some reason. Maybe these were hits at the time, though!
Men’s Gold Alternates, 2016-2019
This setup is actually pretty clean, but credit is given to Joe Woll’s pads & mask design for really pulling everything together in this specific picture. The gold alternates were not a huge fan of mainly because it looked like the Eagle had been screen printed on. The shoulder design is liked, but not enough to rank this higher with the other gold alternates.
Men’s Gold Alternates, Yet Again, 2020-Present
They’re a similar shade to most of the earlier gold alternates, but there’s something about these that just feel a little off. They also kind of look like practice jerseys even though BC has had similar logos in the front before. It’s the total lack of maroon on the sweaters that makes this a little worse.
Read also: History of the BU Bridge
Iconic Boston University Jerseys
Evaluating BU’s home uniform is really testing the ability to ignore the history and focus solely on the visuals. It’s so iconic, but unfortunately, that doesn’t make it a good jersey. The thick-striped, two-color look is a bit too minimalistic for my taste.
Home
BU doesn’t wear these often, but when they do… oh man. There’s so much red (again, scarlet?) but it works, especially with the white jumping off the base. I also think just adding “University” under “Boston” on the chest makes a huge difference.
Hockey East Jersey Rankings
Home Jerseys
Holy Cross
Well done, Holy Cross. Purple isn’t an easy color to work into a primarily-white uniform, but this balance of purple and white is perfectly executed with some solids and some stripes. They also used a real logo on the chest, rather than just their name!
Northeastern
Northeastern in these uniforms, and yet, they are still loved. There’s plenty going on with the three-stripe format, but it’s not overwhelming. They even have both their name and their logo on the chest!
Maine
Maine is undoubtedly the beneficiary of a glorious color scheme, and you’ll see that will factor in plenty throughout these rankings. Their home jerseys aren’t their strongest, but they’re still great.
Boston College
BC really toes the line between too much white and the right amount, but I think they got it right. The Boston College wordmark fills the chest nicely, and the uses of maroon and gold add a little flair across the uniform.
UMass Lowell
The maroon of the letters and the white of the base are rounded out well with the clean stripes of maroon and gray. Below the underwhelming solid-colored pants, the socks go back to the theme from the top.
Vermont
Remember Vermont’s jersey? This is more like what I wish the Catamounts did. You know where I stand on having a name across the front, but at least the number is there too, and the mix of thick and thin stripes presents a little more visual interest.
Providence
I like that both the name and the logo are on the chest of this jersey, and I like the varied colors and thickness of the stripes. This jersey is the epitome of “like it, don’t love it”.
UVM
I love the UVM color combo, but they could’ve done a lot more with it than this. The all-white tops could use more yellow and green, and though I appreciate how the Vermont wording sticks out, I wish they used their Catamount “V” logo.
UNH
As you’ll notice in each ranking, UNH’s jerseys bore me. The two-color scheme doesn’t help the elementary two-stripe design, and the basic “UNH” across the chest only makes matters worse.
UConn
The red accents are promising, but they’re ruined by the bland white and solid-colored shoulders and pants. Plus, they have much better logos than that UConn lettering.
UMass Lowell
There’s just something that feels a little outdated about these River Hawk jerseys. The colors definitely pop, but the design is about as middle-of-the-road as it gets. From the shoulders to the socks, it’s missing something.
Alternate Jerseys
UMass
What am I looking at here? The Minutemen rarely wear a third jersey, and if this is their best one, they really are in trouble. Don’t let the bright white stripes convince you that the gray and maroon work well together. Also, since when does UMass use an “M” logo?
Vermont
This jersey is fun. Not only do the Catamounts use plaid across the top, but they double-down on the socks as well! However, at the end of the day it’s a gimmicky style to spice up the rotation, and not exactly a jersey you’d want to see on a regular basis.
Providence
Providence has three colors - “colors” - with black, white, and gray. They already used black, and they already used white, so this one had to be gray, and I think it’s the worst look they have.
Holy Cross
Ehhh… I see what Holy Cross tried to do here, but purple just isn’t the color to pair with black. I don’t mind the design, and I’d probably love it with the colors arranged differently, but the way they have it right now just doesn’t work for me.
UConn
Using a gradient on a hockey uniform is definitely aggressive, but UConn embraces it, wearing this alternate all the time. I don’t love it as much as they do, but as far as gradients go, I think you could do far worse.
Northeastern
Northeastern came so, so close to having an elite alternate jersey here, and then they decided to surround the chest logo with this awful tan or gold or whatever that is. Why?!
Merrimack
This look has grown on me since they first debuted it, but I’m still not totally in love with it. The thin stripes aren’t visually-pleasing to me, although I know that’s part of the “throwback” feel.
Boston College
Woah! The Warriors wear their yellow uniforms a ton, as they should. This bright base is complemented well with the blue throughout the ensemble, along with the white accents. They sometimes switch around the logos, and you really can’t go wrong either way.
Boston University Hockey: More Than Just a Jersey
The Boston University Terriers men’s ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents Boston University. BU played in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) from 1961 to 1984, winning five tournament championships; and has since competed in the Hockey East Association, winning ten tournament titles. The Terriers have won five national championships, and are the only eastern team to win back-to-back NCAA titles. Under head coach Jack Kelley, they won their first title in 1971 and repeated in 1972. BU won their other three titles under head coach Jack Parker, in 1978, 1995, and 2009. In 1972, 1995, and 2009, BU won the "triple crown," consisting of the Beanpot, conference tournament, and NCAA championships. In 1995 and 2009, the Terriers also won the Hockey East regular season title, giving the team four major trophies in a single season. From 1936-1954, BU was a founding member of the New England Intercollegiate Hockey League, winning five regular season titles and two tournament championships. In 1961, BU was again a founding member of a conference, this time for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). BU would win six regular season titles and five tournament championships in the ECAC before departing in 1984 to help form the Hockey East Association.
The Beanpot
Boston University is sometimes jokingly referred to as “Beanpot University” because of its success in the annual mid-season hockey tournament called the Beanpot. This highly anticipated single-elimination tournament is contested by Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, and Boston College, with the winner receiving the coveted Beanpot trophy and bragging rights over its Boston rivals. The four-team tournament is played on the first two Mondays of February at the TD Garden. Of the 63 Beanpots played since the 1952-1953 season, Boston University has been victorious on 32 occasions.
Olympic Glory
The' Miracle on Ice' team that defeated the Soviet Union and won the gold medal during the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, featured four Boston University players including Olympic team captain Mike Eruzione. Eruzione scored the famous winning goal against the Soviets with 10 minutes remaining, and Craig made 36 saves to preserve the 4-3 victory.
Rivalries
Boston University's biggest rival is Boston College. Referred to as the Green Line Rivalry or The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue because of the proximity of the schools and the means of transportation to get from one campus to another, the Terriers and Eagles have played each other well over 200 times since their first meeting in 1918. After the 1978 national championship victory over Boston College, BU co-captain Jack O'Callahan was quoted as saying "We shouldn't have to beat BC for the nationals. Hell, we can do that anytime." But every game between the teams is highly anticipated. BU and BC have played at least once a year since 1946, and at least twice a year since 1949. They usually play two Hockey East regular season games each year, and typically face each other once more in February during the Beanpot, with BU holding a substantial edge in tournament and head-to-head victories. The teams have twice played each other for the Hockey East Championship, in 1986 and 2006, with BU winning both titles. In 2005-06, BU and BC played six games-three in the Hockey East regular season, and once each in the Beanpot, Hockey East tournament, and NCAA tournament. At every game, regular season and playoffs, the spirited student sections - BU's nicknamed the Dog Pound and BC's the Superfans - are seated in proximity to each other and hurl insults and chants back and forth. BU and BC ratcheted up their rivalry, when they played each other at Fenway Park in front of 38,000 fans, the biggest crowd to ever watch the teams play. Sports Illustrated columnist Steve Rushin went so far as to call BU-BC the biggest rivalry in all of sports. Despite substantial bitterness between the fan bases of the two schools, the hockey teams and coaches generally agree that the magnitude of the rivalry has benefited both hockey programs.
The rivalry between Boston University and Cornell dates to 1925 when Boston University beat Cornell 7-2. The teams played each other in the NCAA championship game in both 1967 and 1972, with Cornell defeating BU 4-1 in '67 and the Terriers taking the '72 title with a 4-0 win. The schools renewed the rivalry over Thanksgiving weekend, with a sold out game dubbed "Red Hot Hockey" at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. After scoring three goals in the first several minutes of play, BU went on to win 6-3. Red Hot Hockey returned to Madison Square Garden, with the two teams skating to a 3-3 tie after one overtime period. The event again sold out the arena.
In the first half of the 1990s, the BU-Maine rivalry was one of the most talked about in college hockey, with the teams battling each other both for eastern and national college hockey supremacy. Boston University defeated Maine in the 1991 Hockey East championship game, in overtime, and Maine returned the favor by soundly beating BU in the HE title game in 1993. In the '93 season, Maine won the national title and lost only one game all year, and it came at the hands of their rivals at BU. Maine had to forfeit most of its wins in the 1994 season because of recruiting violations.
BU's rivalries with Harvard and Northeastern stem mainly from regular meetings in the Beanpot, the tournament in which Boston bragging rights are on the line. BU also plays Northeastern three times each year in conference regular season play, and sometimes plays the ECAC-based Harvard in a nonconference game early in the season. BU, BC, Northeastern and Harvard formerly played their home games in the Boston Arena, the site of the first Beanpot in 1952 and the current home of Northeastern.
The Hobey Baker Award
The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. Forward Chris Drury became BU's first Hobey Baker award winner after a senior campaign in which he scored 28 goals and assisted on 29 more. Drury's 113 career goals are the most in BU history. Drury has gone on to a successful NHL career, which included the 1999 rookie of the year award and a 2001 Stanley Cup championship with Colorado. Defenseman Matt Gilroy won BU's second Hobey Baker award after a senior season in which he scored eight goals and posted 29 assists. Gilroy came to BU as a walk-on and became a three-time All-American. Forward Jack Eichel won the Hobey Baker, after putting a 71-point year in only 40 games, becoming the third BU player to win the award. He edged the two others nominees that year, Zane McIntyre from North Dakota, and Jimmy Vesey from Harvard University. Forward Macklin Celebrini won the Hobey Baker award, after recording 38 goals and 32 assists in 38 games, becoming the fourth BU player to win the award.
Travis Roy
On Oct. 20, 1995, BU raised its fourth national championship banner as it opened a new season, yet just moments later the program suffered its greatest on-ice tragedy. On that night Travis Roy, a freshman recruit who grew up in Maine, was paralyzed from the neck down just eleven seconds into his first college shift. The 20-year-old Roy crashed head-first into the boards after a University of North Dakota player, Mitch Vig, avoided his check. Roy missed a year of college, but ultimately returned to BU, earning a degree in communications. Roy has remained a presence with the BU hockey program, attending games and on several occasions joining his teammates on the ice to celebrate Beanpot championships. Roy, (now deceased), has become an inspirational figure for sufferers of spinal cord injuries. In 1997 he founded the Travis Roy Foundation to raise money for research and individual grants, and in 1998 he published an autobiography titled Eleven Seconds. In October 1999, Roy's #24 was retired, and raised to the rafters of Walter Brown Arena.
Coaching Legends
Wayland Vaughan coached Boston University, compiling an 87-82-8 record. Vaughan was far from the most successful coach in terms of winning percentage, but maintained the Terriers program in the face of both the Great Depression and World War II.
Harry Cleverly, the BU coach, guided the Terriers into the era of the NCAA tournament, which began in 1948, and brought BU to its first national championship game and an additional three appearances in the tournament, which consisted of just four teams in those years.
Jack Kelley was the first coach to bring BU to the summit of college hockey. Kelley coached just ten seasons but appeared in four NCAA tournaments and won back-to-back titles, his final years behind the bench. Kelley also won three ECAC regular season titles, one ECAC tournament title, and six Beanpots.
Leon Abbott succeeded Kelley, and picked up where Kelley left off with a sterling 22-win season. However, eleven of his wins were forfeited due to an ineligible player. Six games into his second season, Abbott was abruptly fired for withholding information about two Canadian players who had played junior hockey in their home country. The ECAC had ruled them ineligible, only to be cleared to play by a judge. At a conference meeting, Abbott admitted not pressing the players to disclose the compensation they received as juniors.
Jack Parker is the longest-tenured and winningest coach in Boston University history. Parker's accomplishments are almost unparalleled in college sports. In 40 years, he won 876 games, the highest tally for a hockey coach who has spent his whole career at just one school, while winning 21 Beanpot titles, 11 conference tournament titles and three national championships. Parker helped found Hockey East, when several teams broke away from the ECAC to form their own conference, and played a crucial role in building Boston University's state-of-the-art arena. The ice sheet at Agganis Arena bears his name - Jack Parker Rink. Parker was voted NCAA hockey coach of the year.
Home Arena
BU plays its home games at Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. The hockey rink at the arena is named Jack Parker Rink after the team's longtime coach. Agganis Arena first opened its doors for a hockey game versus the University of Minnesota.
tags: #boston #university #hockey #jersey #history
