The Boston University Terriers are the nine men's and twelve women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. The men compete in basketball, cross country, ice hockey, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, and wrestling. Women compete in basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, and softball. There is no varsity baseball team, but Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox are nearby. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. The school colors are Scarlet and White. The mascot's is named Rhett in a reference to Gone With the Wind, because "no one loves Scarlet more than Rhett."

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Terrier Hockey

Boston University's Hockey 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 Hockey East Conference, along with crosstown arch-rivals Boston College. The series with Boston College is known as the Green Line Rivalry or the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue. Under long-time coach and former player, Jack Parker, BU excelled in the 90's, winning six Hockey East regular season titles, four Hockey East tournament titles, the 1995 National Championship and 3 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 tournament, which has been contested by the Terriers, 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 Banknorth Garden, and is a fierce battle for bragging rights. As of 2009, the Terriers have won 29 of 57 Beanpots and 12 of the last 15.

Other Varsity Sports

For most other sports, BU competes in the America East Conference (formerly called the North Atlantic Conference). The Men's Basketball team earned post-season berths in the NCAA tournament or NIT four straight seasons between 2002 and 2005. 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 and Mike Jarvis. The Terriers also have a history of national success in men's and women's soccer, field hockey, and women's lacrosse. 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 women's rowing won back to back national championships.

Dropping Football

Boston University terminated their DI-AA football program on Homecoming Weekend 1997 during a one-win season in the Atlantic 10. The controversial decision was made worse by the timing of the announcement. The decision was especially painful for alumni and students who felt a national university needed a football team to be credible as a "major" college. The players at the time were allowed to keep their 4-year scholarships or transfer without NCAA penalties. The University has used the former-football scholarships to comply with Title IX requirements. Since dropping football, BU has improved its facilities for other sports, including hockey, assuaging critics' concerns that football was dropped as part of a plan to neglect athletics. BU has rejected efforts to revive the program citing the lack of support from a local fan base. Proponents often argue that a football revival would increase alumni contributions, exceeding potential program losses.

New Facilities

In 2005, Boston University opened Agganis Arena for Hockey and Basketball. The facility was designed as a hockey arena: a departure from BU's Walter Brown Arena 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 19,000+ seat TD Banknorth Garden (previously the Fleet Center). The arena is named after Harry Agganis, "The Golden Greek," BU alumnus, Terrier sports star, Boston Red Sox first baseman, 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 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.

Outdoor track, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and other outdoor sports continue to be played on the artificial surface of Nickerson Field.