Eagles Reveal New Honorary Red Bandana Uniform

Boston College was 1-17 against AP Top-25 teams during Steve Addazio’s seven-year tenure.

That one win was well documented.

It was 2014, a year after Addazio executed an impressive rebuild, turning a two-win program into a team one defensive stop away from its first eight-win season since 2009.

BC was hosting No. 9 USC in Week 3 at Alumni Stadium. A season removed from a 35-7 blowout loss at L.A. Memorial Coliseum, the Eagles—led by Florida transfer Tyler Murphy—pulled off one of the most memorable upsets in school history: a 37-31 win over the Trojans. Above all else, however, the victory started a tradition.

The Eagles were wearing paisley-patterned gloves, cleats, and helmet stripes with white pants to go along with their normal home tops—all in honor of Welles Crowther, a BC lacrosse alum who died saving more than a dozen lives in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks. BC has continued to commemorate Crowther and his heroism with those uniforms and the “Red Bandana Game” for each of the past five years. That’s not changing, but the Eagles’ uniforms are.

BC unveiled new Red Bandana threads on Friday night. In addition to the players’ accessories (gloves, cleats, arm sleeves), their numbers and pant stripes are also paisley-patterned, as are the accents on their shoulder pads. It’s an all-white kit, which allows the paisley to pop off the Eagles’ uniforms.

Crowther took after his father by wearing a red bandana everywhere he went: to class, on the lacrosse field, and eventually to work. So on 9/11, when the South Tower of the World Trade Center was struck, he wore the bandana around his nose and mouth to protect him from the surrounding smoke. He sacrificed his life to save others, making trips back-and-forth between the building and its entrance, ushering civilians to safety.

The Eagles’ Red Bandana uniform has always symbolized service. It’s a representation of the school’s motto, “Men and women for others,” as well as everything that Crowther stood for. And, with these new threads, that iconography is more powerful than ever before.

The wardrobe update comes just two days after the program revealed another uniform option for the 2020 season. BC brought back its beloved white, Doug Flutie-era throwback jerseys, a kit that was last worn in 2015 when the Eagles played Notre Dame in Fenway Park.

All in all, BC has five uniform sets for this season. The Eagles can wear their usual home/away unis (debuted in 2016), the home/away retro kits, and the new Red Bandana threads.

Based on the program’s uniform announcement video that went out on Friday night, it appears as if all five uniform combinations will include a stripeless gold helmet.

The date of the Red Bandana Game has yet to be set. Last year, the game was played on Nov. 9 against Florida State. It marked the first time in the event’s history that the Red Bandana Game was not played in primetime. Notably, the game has been scheduled further and further away from 9/11 practically every year it’s been played: Sept. 13 in 2014, Sept. 18 in 2015, Oct. 7 in 2016, Oct. 27 in 2017, Oct. 26 in 2018, and Nov. 9 in 2019.

Typically, the game has been broadcast on national television with a premier opponent. In the event’s six-year existence, the Eagles have played FSU three times, Clemson once, Miami once, and, of course, USC.

BC is slated to host six games this season. Its home opener is against Texas State, a Sun Belt program that the Eagles have never played before, on Sept. 26. That’s the start of a three-game home stand. After facing the Bobcats, BC will square off versus UNC and Pittsburgh back-to-back weeks in Alumni. Perhaps the game will fall somewhere in that three-week span.

Regardless of the opponent, the Red Bandana Game will have meaning, like always—even if there are no fans in the stands.