I am currently a varsity high-school athlete and would like to continue playing at the collegiate level. How do I contact a coach, and what sorts of things do your coaches look for when recruiting a student-athlete?

First, thank you for your interest in Boston University!

Recruiting is the backbone of any program in a Division I athletic department, and our teams are no exception. Every one of our coaches for all 23 varsity teams invests a lot of time and effort to find prospective student-athletes who will be a good fit to join the Terrier family.

We encourage those with an interest in attending Boston University and competing for one of our varsity teams to visit our Recruiting page at GoTerriers.com.

By completing and returning the information on the Recruiting page requested by the coach of the sport you are interested in, our staff can complete an initial evaluation to help determine if they believe you would fit in well at Boston University and with that specific team. In those instances when the coaches determine there is the potential for a good fit with their team, the coaches will follow up directly with you to advance the recruitment process and arrange for an on-campus visit.

Please keep in mind that Division I is the most competitive level of college athletics, and our coaches are actively pursuing prospective student-athletes. Many young men and women seek the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics. While our staff will attempt to respond to each request, sometimes the quantity of submissions received renders those best efforts simply impossible. Our coaches have spent and will continue to spend a significant amount of time and effort to recruit, but not at the expense of coaching and mentoring their current student-athletes.

Will Terrier Athletics bring back a varsity football and/or baseball team?

I occasionally am contacted regarding the absence of these programs at Boston University. However, with the passing of time, it has become increasingly unlikely that either will be reintroduced to the slate of varsity sports that we sponsor.

When you consider dozens of annual scholarships, necessary stadium renovations and upgrades, market-value coaching salaries and the necessity to add a comparable number of women's athletes to remain compliant with Title IX, the costs presently would be too much to add football or baseball to our department.

Those are just the basic start-up and on-going costs to create and maintain a program, let alone bringing it to the level of a highly competitive team. Boston University has recently invested significantly in new athletic facilities -- including Agganis Arena, the DeWolfe Boathouse, the Track and Tennis Center, the Aquatics Center and Competition Pool in the Fitness and Recreation Center and the soccer pitch on Nickerson Field. These investments benefit not only our student-athletes but the entire student body, and already have proven to be of tremendous value to BU and to Terrier Athletics.

It is therefore unlikely that one team, which history shows garnered temperate support from students, alumni and the local community, would be brought back, especially when doing so would have to be at the expense of so many of our other programs.

I can certainly appreciate the interest in both sports. I played baseball in college, and prior to Boston University I worked in the athletic department at the University of Miami, whose football tradition speaks for itself. However, these decisions must be made while considering only what are the best interests of Boston University, and at this time it is best for the Terriers not to sponsor a varsity football or baseball team.

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. Keep them coming and we'll talk again next month!

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