LIVE CHAT WITH GENE DeFILIPPO

 Gene DeFillippo

Do you have a question for BC Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo? Now's your chance to ask. Submit your questions now, then join us at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 12 as Gene answers your questions live.

Moderator: Welcome to today's live chat with BC Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo. Please stand by.

Gene DeFilippo: Hello, everyone. This is Gene DeFilippo. I'll take your questions now.

paul -- boston: gene, you have done a great job at boston college but what can you do to increase season ticket sales.

Gene DeFilippo: Paul, it's really not a matter of selling more season tickets, as we are sold out in men's basketball and will be nearly sold out this year in football. What is difficult is getting our fans to attend the games. Our attendance at the more popular games, such as Notre Dame in football or North Carolina and Duke in basketball, are full houses. But we have many no-shows for other regular-season games, which can be frustrating at times for all of us.

Boston/New York: Hi Gene, As an avid fan of the BC Football team, I have been disturbed by that fact that our team always seems to get overlooked for the "bigger" bowl games. This year, we definitely should have been given the opportunity to play in either the Chick-fil-A Bowl or the Gator Bowl and yet the bowl committees decided not to select our team due to fan support. Shouldn't the best teams be given the opportunity to play in the best bowls? The current system clearly favors teams that have large fan bases, and frankly, a large state school will obviously have more fan support than a private institution. Do you believe that a playoff system should be in place for the BCS?

Gene DeFilippo: There's no question that we have been slighted by the bowls, both as a member of the Big East and now that we're in the ACC. Championships are decided on the field, whereas bowl game participants are decided in the stands. We have some things working against us. Number one, we don't have nearly the alumni base that many state institutions have. Number two, we're farther from the bowls than many other schools, especially those located in the Southeastern part of the country. Number three, we have not been able to entice a lot of fans to join us at the bowl games. Bowls are in the business of making money for their communities. We have to always remember that.

Sal (Chestnut Hill, MA): Hey Gene. I wanted to know if we'll ever see our marching band travel to more away games in the coming football seasons. I was at the Notre Dame game this year, and with the amount of people there, I felt that if we had our marching band there it would only have added to the already great atmosphere. I'm excited to hear that the band will be traveling to the Champs Sports Bowl, but it would also be great to see them at other conference/rival away games.

Gene DeFilippo: Few, if any, institutions take the marching band on the road with them; some take a 30-person pep band. We plan to take a pep band on the road with us a lot more in the future.

Matt Sudhalter ,Overland Park ,KS: Gene , Congratulations on a great Football season.My question is why can't the ACC put enough pressure on the Bowls so that BC would not drop to a so so Bowl game even though they were ACC finalists along with Va Tech.BC deserved a Jan 1 Bowl or the Chick Fila Bowl as ACC#2.Even if we don't travel as well as Clemson ,we should have been assured a spot in the Gator Bowl.I know Bowls are beauty pagents but it seems beating Clemson in the regular season didn't mean much to the Bowl folks.

Gene DeFilippo: As I stated before, we share your frustration, but see my answer above.

Joe (New Canaan): When will we play a home/home BB series with Seton hall again? Bobby Gonzalez is building a great program there.

Gene DeFilippo: We haven't talked to Seton Hall about playing, but I agree that Bobby Gonzalez is doing an excellent job at Seton Hall.

Dan (Brighton): Gene, thanks for chatting! I would like to know if you have an update for us on the possibility of bringing the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament to Boston after 2010. Thank you!

Gene DeFilippo: The ACC Tournament is booked until 2014, I believe, but we will continue to try to bring the tournament to Boston. We would love to have it here for one year.

Brian (San Jose, CA): Would you support a playoff in football or do you have your own variation on the current bowl setup that you could share?

Gene DeFilippo: Yes, I would support a playoff, while using the four BCS bowl games. You would take the top eight teams, seed them one through eight, and each of those games would be very, very important, because the winners would go on to a Final Four, just as they do in basketball. If we could create an eight-team playoff, it would be almost as big as the NCAA basketball tournament.

Brian (San Jose, CA): Has there been any discussion within the ACC about realigning the Atlantic and Coastal conferences? I find it a shame that we play Va Tech every year, but not Miami, aren't they our only real traditional rival in the conference?

Gene DeFilippo: No, there has been no talk about re-aligning the divisions. Schools seem to be happy with the way things stand.

Dan, New York City: Any chance of ever expanding the student section or possibly creating a general admission/recent alum section at football games to take advantage of recent alums who still like to stand and cheer loudly but are outnumbered by the many fans who take a more passive approach in the non-student sections?

Gene DeFilippo: No, we sell approximately 6,000 student tickets. I don't see that number increasing in the future. We have tickets for sale, and I would ask that the young alumni purchase those tickets and come to the games.

Omar (Campbell, CA): Given the 5k+ that turned out for the ACC Championship game, what might the university have done differently to encourage a stronger turnout?

Gene DeFilippo: Nobody has to teach our fans how to travel, as we took 5,000 fans to Notre Dame with us this fall, and we could have sold as many as 8-9,000 tickets if we had that many to sell. It goes back to the fact that our fans travel to what they consider to be big games and they don't always travel to the other regular-season games.

Dan (Durham, NC): Coach Flip, Saw the BC 10 year plan and wondering what is planned for the Brighton Athletics building? How about an indoor track?

Gene DeFilippo: The 10-year strategic plan, which Boston College just unveiled, is very exciting. We plan on building both a baseball field and a softball field on the Brighton campus, and there will be a field house adjacent to these fields that will house an indoor track.

Gene DeFilippo: The facility will also house some indoor and/or outdoor tennis courts.

Newnan Ga: Can you get something closer for Golf, the Harmon center is 2 hours of commute time. The studends would be better off with a membership at the course next to the school and a rented place with nets to hit in?

Gene DeFilippo: I don't know of a finer indoor facility than the Harmon Center, and if there's one closer, I hope someone will bring it to my attention.

sean(chicago): is there anything that can be done(outside of winning) to increase fan support? it is frustrating that we continue to be overlooked for the bowls we rightfully deserve because we "don't travel well"....

Gene DeFilippo: We have great fan support when we play Notre Dame or Florida State in football, or Duke or North Carolina in basketball. Our fans can be really, really supportive. We just don't do it on a consistent basis.

sean(chicago): has there been an uptick in the quality of football recruits based on this year's success?

Gene DeFilippo: I think this year's success will really help our football recruiting not only this year, but next year as well.

Joe (South Boston): Are there any movements to build a new athletic center to replace the Conte froum seeing as it is small?

Gene DeFilippo: No, there are no plans to replace Conte Forum. After this summer, we will have finished renovating the entire building. When we are at 100% capacity at EVERY home basketball and hockey game, maybe we will reconsider.

Alex (LA): As an AD, how are you going to help BC get a better travel reputation?

Gene DeFilippo: I'm not going to lie and inflate our numbers to the bowl people. We'll get a better travel reputation when our fans travel and support the team.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY: How is the football recruiting doing since Jags began as coach of the Eagles? Do you expect to have a conference championship level team every year?

Gene DeFilippo: Right now, our recruiting is going very well. Coach Jags and his staff have been working tirelessly to sign some great players. Every year, our goal will be the same, and that will be to win the ACC Championship.

Mike, Boston: Gene, assuming BRA/Newton approve the development plans, what are the approximate timelines on the new athletic facilities that will be built? I understand that BC is planning baseball, softball, tennis and possibly track facilities on the fields at Brighton Campus as well as a permanent replacement for the Quonset hut/trailer complex on Newton Campus.

Gene DeFilippo: The first phase of the strategic plan involves the building of a baseball and softball field. We will begin to do that as soon as the master plan is approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Bill (Jamaica Plain): Gene- How do you stand to tolerate the fact that in our 3 years in the ACC, we have routinely been passed over by inferior squads for better bowls, often times playing in games slotted for positions much below where we end the season. For instance, 3 straight years we have beaten Clemson, 3 straight years we have finished above them in the standings, and 3 straight years we have been passed over in favor of them for better bowl games. Isn't the burden on you, the AD, to be an ambassador for the school and get these bowls to select us when we are deserving? It is, I believe, a true disservice to this senior class that they are playing in an inferior bowl against an inferior opponent than they earned.

Gene DeFilippo: Bill, I'm in complete agreement with you, in that the bowls have done a real disservice to Boston College. Let's remember, however, that championships are won on the field and bowl games are awarded by how many people are in the stands. Only 4,000 BC fans attended our ACC Championship game in Jacksonville. In contrast, Clemson sold 17,500 tickets in one day to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and Mississippi State sold 30,000 tickets to their bowl game. You are right, the burden is on me to be an ambassador for BC, but the burden is on our fans to show support for our team.

Bob Vanasse, Washington, DC: Mark Schlabach's ESPN story on the bowl selection process proved that our non-traveling fan base is the only reason we are not playing on New Year's Day. Although the premium seat license fee elicited tiresome Bostonian grumbling it was the right call. What do you think of Pete Cronan's idea for a "bowl tax???? All season ticket holders would be required to buy a bowl ticket. Ticket holders could sell unwanted tickets through the online marketplace. The free market would find an equilibrium price and BC would earn a transaction fee on transfers. If the equilibrium price fell, it might spur others to make the trip, or encourage alumni living in the area of the bowl to bring family and friends. Do you think it is workable?

Gene DeFilippo: Bob, we have already purchased 12,000 tickets to the Champs Bowl, as was required contractually. The bowls are not interested in ticket sales, but rather in bodies that will travel to a particular site and spend money in a normally down time, between Christmas and New Year's. We have worked hand in glove with the Alumni Association on chartered flights, special travel arrangements, and we have sent emails to nearly 160,000 people. We are pulling out all the stops to market this game.

Hoboken, NJ: We cannot continue to allow the football team to be passed over by teams we have beat. Why not institute the tax that Peter Cronan recommended so we can guarantee selling our ticket alottment??

Gene DeFilippo: Once again, we have already purchased the tickets. What we need is bodies in the stands to support the team.

Sam (Worcester): Do you see BC competing for a national title in football or mens basketball during your tenure as Athletic Director?

Gene DeFilippo: We are already doing that. Our football team was 8-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country earlier this year. That's competing for a national championship, right? Our men's basketball team was a few plays away from playing for a trip to the Final Four two years ago. National championships are hard to win in any sport. Just ask the traditional football powers such as Nebraska or Alabama and basketball powers such as UCLA and Kentucky.

Pete from Central Mass: Why has BC decided to go with so much advertising on the boards at the Conte Forum? I realize that scholarships are costly, but the game on the ice is still played by men and women who have yet to sign any pro contracts. I don't see ads on the floor of the basketball court nor on the turf at Alumni Stadium. Can't we display the needed ads elsewhere in the forum?

Gene DeFilippo: Pete, you're in the minority on this one. Most of the emails I have received have been positive about the dasher boards, and they are present in just about every college and professional venue.

Sam (Westminster, MD): What is the football non-conference schedule going to look like next season ? Will Notre Dame be on the schedule ?

Gene DeFilippo: Our non-conference schedule next year includes Notre Dame, Rhode Island and Kent State. We are looking for a fourth game, as Army has asked out of the Army vs. BC game in 2008.

Tom, Brighton: Since BC seems to have trouble selling tickets and has a less than stellar travel reputation, what extra steps is the athletic department taking to try to improve this situation and sell more tickets? Giving the students free tickets to the game was definitely a good start, but what else? Thanks a lot!

Gene DeFilippo: We have pulled out all the stops in trying to market this bowl game. We've worked hand in glove with the alumni association to send emails, video messages, telephone messages. We have spent a large amount of money in marketing this game. Our fans know about the game. I'm hopeful and confident they'll travel and support the team.

Mullins S.C.: What do you think about the young kid on the block DeLeon Gause?

Gene DeFilippo: I think DeLeon Gause is a great young man and he has a bright future as a defensive back here at Boston College.

Jim (New Orleans): Gene, what is the next step for BC in terms of facility upgrades?

Gene DeFilippo: This summer will conclude an entire renovation of Conte Forum. We will also increase seating as well as a new press box and a scoreboard on the soccer/lacrosse field. We are also planning to install new turf on the soccer/lacrosse field.

Michael (Boston): Gene, why don't you raise ticket prices for all season ticket holders and tell them that this pay increase automatically guarantees them a bowl ticket? This way BC can tell the bowl committees that it has 20,000 tickets already sold for the bowl game and our football players get to play in the bowl they deserve. And if we weren't bowl eligible, give all season ticket holders a refund equal to the amount of the cost of the ticket.

Gene DeFilippo: Michael, we have already purchased the 12,500 tickets from the bowl game, as is dictated by the contract. It's not ticket sales the bowl wants, but rather bodies to come to the bowl site.

DJ (Franklin): Gene, Based on the number of football head coaching vacancies this year is there any concern about loosing any of our assistants? Thanks

Gene DeFilippo: At this time, we don't anticipate losing any of our assistants, but assistant coaches always want to be head coaches, and if one of our assistants becomes a head coach, we'd be very happy for him.

Jim (Newton): Gene, Have you considered including in the season ticket package a charge for a bowl ticket if an invatation is extended? What are some of the ideas you have explored to imrprove bowl ticket sales?

Gene DeFilippo: Jim, as I've mentioned previously, we have already purchased the 12,500 tickets. What we need is for people to travel to the bowl site. This is the only way we will improve our reputation for traveling.

Grant (Chestnut Hill): Hi Coach Flip! I was wondering how the Conte Forum A/C situation was coming along. I had heard from some alumni that donations were being requested for this purpose, and I was wondering how things were going with it.

Gene DeFilippo: We have an engineering firm doing a study on Conte Forum, and we anticipate that the building will be air conditioned within the next few years. It's always been surprising to me that the building wasn't air conditioned when it was built 20 years ago. It would have been a lot less expensive than it's going to be now.

Brian (San Jose, CA): Given our willingness to entertain 1-AA football opponents from New England like Main, Rhonde Island and UMASS, why not play Holy Cross to renew (in some sense) that historical rivalry?

Gene DeFilippo: We cannot play Holy Cross because they don't award the 60 scholarships necessary to count for the I-AA win toward bowl eligibility. UMass, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Northeastern offer approximately 63 full scholarships for football; thus, we can count a win over them toward bowl eligibility.

John (Chestnut Hill): Gene, Thanks for all you do for BC, you have an excellent group of coaches, and in turn it is very easy to be proud of the student-athletes. Keep up the good work!

Gene DeFilippo: Thank you very much. I'm very fortunate in that I have a great group of administrators and coaches to work with, and they're the ones who really deserve the credit. We have the best student-athletes in America, no question, and they are always our top priority.

Gene DeFilippo: Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope this live chat has cleared up some of the misinformation that is out there, particularly concerning bowl games. We have purchased $720,000 worth of tickets from the bowl. It's not the ticket sales. It's the number of people who will travel to Orlando to support our football team. That is how we can improve our bowl reputation for traveling. In reading the paper yesterday, I also found that Auburn had sold 15,700 tickets to their bowl game, and Kentucky has traveled with as many as 25,000 to past bowls and will probably travel that many again this year. The bowls will always favor those teams. We will conduct another live chat early next year.

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