Boston College basketball finally managed to dominate the college basketball conversation in August. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with recruiting, winning or new head coach Luke Murray restoring a program that has spent nearly two decades wandering through irrelevance.
Instead, Boston College created an embarrassing mess involving longtime radio broadcasters Kevin Collins and Josh Maurer, then allowed Murray to take the public blame before athletic director Blake James stepped forward to deny that the coach made the decision.
This is a program that has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2007. It should be doing everything possible to reconnect with its frustrated fan base. Somehow, Boston College decided that pushing aside two familiar voices was part of the solution.
That is certainly one way to announce that a new era has arrived.
Boston College turned a small decision into a major mess
Collins had called Boston College games for 13 seasons, including nine alongside Maurer. According to reporting from Awful Announcing and The Athletic, the broadcasters repeatedly attempted to arrange a meeting with Murray after his hiring but never received one.
They also reportedly received assurances throughout the offseason that they would return. Instead, they learned in late July that their contracts would not be renewed, leaving them little time to secure comparable work for the upcoming season.
Collins said he was initially told Murray wanted a complete reset and did not want anyone connected to the previous coaching staff traveling with the program. That explanation made little sense from the beginning. Radio announcers do not draw up the offense, recruit the roster or decide when to switch defenses.
The Boston Globe then reported Wednesday that Murray had no role in the decision.
“Luke did not make this decision because he does not have the ability to make this decision,” James told the Globe. “If someone wanted to say it was my decision, yes, at the end of the day I approved it, and I take full responsibility for that.”
That clarification helps Murray, but it makes Boston College Athletics look even worse.
If Murray did not make the decision, why were Collins and Maurer reportedly led to believe that he did? How did a routine broadcasting change become a public whodunit in which the school’s first-time head coach was painted as petty and insecure?
Nobody appears to have a satisfying answer.
A struggling program cannot afford unforced errors
Murray already faces one of the most difficult rebuilding jobs in the ACC. Boston College fired Earl Grant after five seasons and a 72-92 record, continuing a miserable stretch for a program that has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2009.
The Eagles have produced just two winning seasons in the last 14 years. They have become an afterthought in a conference they once joined with expectations of becoming a consistent contender.
Murray was supposed to bring energy and credibility after helping Dan Hurley win two national championships at UConn. Before he coached his first game, however, the administration allowed an avoidable controversy to become the defining story of his opening months in Chestnut Hill.
That is a tough look for everyone involved.
Replacing broadcasters is Boston College’s right. Handling the decision this poorly was entirely unnecessary. Collins and Maurer deserved a timely, honest conversation, while Murray deserved not to be blamed for a call the athletic director now says he never made.
Boston College desperately needs a fresh start. Firing familiar voices, confusing everyone about who made the decision and spending August managing the backlash is not a fresh start.
It is simply the same struggling program finding a brand-new way to trip over itself.
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