Boston College Athletics
Eagles Re-Unite
February 24, 2015 | Boston College Athletics
A near sell-out crowd braved an incoming storm to cheer on men's basketball team face 10th-ranked Notre Dame last Saturday.
But before the first fans entered Conte Forum, a group of Boston College Athletics' best was already making memories.
Saturday afternoon marked the first-ever reunion of the former Eagles of the Year, the top award bestowed upon BC athletes.
Of the 90 former Eagles of the Year, one-third of them made it to the reunion. A mix of young and old, the returning athletes represented their classes - spanning five decades - and their sports (15 in total) on Saturday.
Two of the first Eagle of the Year honorees attended - swimming and diving's Mary Ellen Sullivan '78 and Siobhan Campbell-Jordan '79 - as well as two of the most recent: track and field's Jillian King '13 and women's hockey's Corinne Boyles '14.
Senior associate athletics director Jody Mooradian coordinated the inaugural event.
"We're always looking for a chance to blend the former student-athletes with more current ones," Mooradian said. "We have such a great wealth of alums, and one of Brad Bates' pillars is reaching out to alums and inviting them back. This event made perfect sense when you consider these are our best-ever student-athletes."
For some former Eagles of the Year, like swimming and diving's Curt Jablonowski '93, it was one of their first returns to campus since graduating.
"I've been back on campus exactly two times in the last 22 years so it was a great excuse for me to get back," Jablonowski, who now lives in southern Utah, said.
Others, like field hockey's Kristen Madden, have been back more recently, but the reunion allowed for other benefits.
"I saw Anne Marie Ambros `99, who was a fellow field hockey Eagle of the Year winner, so it was fun to catch up with her and some other alums from when I graduated. I didn't really know who would be here so it was great to meet some new people and see some familiar faces. We came with our nine-month old daughter so it's fun to bring her here with her BC sweatshirt and see some other children, too."
The track and field program held their own reunion during the weekend, but the teams' Eagles of the Year quickly found each other on Saturday and talked about the invitation.
Katie Ryan `02, who was a finalist for the 2002 NCAA Woman of the Year, noted, "Even if we didn't know one another, we all shared a common bond and that brings everyone together and that's what BC is all about."
Tiffany Young '94 added, "I think this event has given us an opportunity to meet other Eagles of the Year. You know the people that were around your years, but not the people that came before you or after you. So it's nice to be able to match a face with the nameplates on the wall, and for us to connect inter-generationally."
Following the reception, the Eagles of the Year were honored by the crowd at halftime of the basketball game. And maybe, a future Eagle of the Year was inspired by their return.
