John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

West Texas and New Mexico alums of Boston College, rejoice. Your moment has finally come.

On Saturday, Boston College revealed another piece to its 2013 schedule: on November 9, they will face New Mexico State. At New Mexico State.

The Eagles will head out west twice in the 2013 season, as they will play the USC Trojans in September and then head into the New Mexican desert to face the Aggies in November. Boston College will play only six home games once again.

This one is curious. One would think that New Mexico State, now coached by former Eagle offensive coordinator Doug Martin, does not have the sort of cache to tell Boston College where this game will be played. It is therefore possible that Brad Bates and others suggested that the team travel to Las Cruces. In either case, it is strikingly odd that BC would agree to it, because it’s more traveling for the team and expenses therein, amongst other things, and BC will only play six home games. It would otherwise be reasonable to believe that the Eagles would want more home games as the team attempts to rebuild.

Whatever the case may be, it seems almost assured that there will be a very light BC contingent in attendance, but for those planning on a road trip, you can go 80 through some parts of West Texas.

When Brad Bates was named Boston College’s new athletic director in the middle of October, following the football team’s devastating loss to Army, the general consensus was “Who?”

If any Boston College fans didn’t know who he was then, they do now.

In a month and a half on the Heights, Bates has lifted a great weight from the shoulders of the football program by correcting his predecessor’s biggest mistake, Frank Spaziani. Far more than that, however, Bates has come to Boston College with a vision.

It is one thing to fire a bad coach who wasn’t getting results, because any athletic director can do that if he or she is so inclined, and it is another to hire a good replacement. That is Bates’ next duty, and one which he is doubtlessly taking with the same seriousness and thoughtfulness that we have seen from him since October. It is on an entirely different plane when you’re talking about an athletic director taking steps to change the culture around a program.

This is a culture that needs changing. For too long, a sentiment has pervaded Boston College sports that “we are what we are” — a mediocre program that has all sorts of artificial limitations and can never hope to achieve anything in live competition, so we should settle for less and be happy with it. The BC “fans” who espouse this loser mentality would tell you that strong academics and sporting success are mutually exclusive, winning at the highest level of competition will corrupt the academic and ethical integrity of the university, and that Boston College “belongs” with traditional rivals like Holy Cross and Fordham in the nether-reaches of intercollegiate athletics. All of that is patently ridiculous and the first two are provably false. The third speaks to a nostalgic remnant of times long past, and ignores the fact that BC has a ‘first-tier national university’ profile to maintain.

There is also a crowd — some call them “whalepants,” others “Big East fans,” and others “disgruntled ACC fans who don’t know why BC is here” — who feel that the last several years of BC sports proves that last point that BC can’t compete. These same people were notably silent only a few years ago when BC football was winning or contending for ACC Atlantic titles and won 49 ACC regular-season basketball games between 2005 and 2011. The revelation that BC “isn’t cut out for the ACC” is pure revisionist history, made possible by a standoffish former athletic director who protected his friend, that same failed head football coach, and recent instability in basketball. It is unmistakable that the stench of death surrounded non-icy BC sports at the end of Gene DeFilippo’s tenure.

What is important now is that the new athletic director, Brad Bates, does not seem to be accepting things the way they are. Last night on Boston local sports radio, Bates reiterated his desire to bring in a head football coach who is committed to both academics and winning. He understands that it is not an either/or proposition, as schools like Notre Dame, Duke (basketball), and Stanford are demonstrating now. Bates also spoke about Boston College becoming a “destination job” for coaches, which is a confident attitude that has not been seen around these parts in a long time. A great deal of work has to be done to improve conditions to make it one, but one gets the sense that Bates will do everything in his power to try. Bates knows that Boston College has won before and can win again.

Whether or not Bates succeeds in changing the culture will be open for debate in future years. He got off to a very good start by firing Frank Spaziani the day after the 2012 season ended, but must now make a good hire to replace him. Bates will also have to keep an eye on all of the other programs and monitor developments there, though football has dominated his attention now. One thing is certain, though: Bates has barely had an opportunity to walk the walk, but he is talking the talk. If he backs up his positive, upbeat words with actions in the years to come, he will have a very successful tenure at BC. If he continues to refuse to accept “we are what we are” mediocrity, the program and university will be better off for it.

Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

In early October, I penned an article about new Boston College athletic director Brad Bates and the fans’ reaction to him executing his job. At that point, Bates had literally just been hired and almost certainly had no depth of knowledge about Eagles football in its current state. It is likely he was aware before his installment that things were bad and getting worse, but he was not intimately familiar with the situation as BC fans are.

Just a week later, I argued that Bates had seen enough to get a clear picture of the state of the football program. He did then, and he still does now. If anything, the case for Frank Spaziani’s dismissal is stronger than ever. I still did not fault Bates for waiting, even though I personally disagreed.

There is a growing sentiment amongst a segment of Eagles fans that Bates should have fired Spaziani already and that he is tarnishing his standing. I do understand why they’re saying it: our seniors are most likely going to go out on a 2-10 season, and these guys have nothing positive to which to aspire this year, aside from playing for their brothers in maroon and gold. Fans are in low spirits, but the team is probably in lower spirits. We’re tired of watching them lose, and they’re tired of losing. The team wants a boost, even if just for one last week to wrap up the year, and the fans want in the form of Spaziani being fired.

Had Spaziani been jettisoned after the Florida State disaster, nobody would have been happier than me. In fact, it has been my position that he did not “deserve” to coach this season, because I’m not sure how a guy who has never really won anything “deserves” another chance. Over the last four years, I cannot think of one signature moment this man has produced as head football coach. It is far easier to come up with a list of abysmal failures, many of which came in 2012. He was a poor hire in the first place, which can be blamed on Bates’ predecessor.

With that said, I ask all Eagles fans not to give up on Bates so soon. If what we are hearing is true, Bates already has a wish list of new coaches. I personally doubt he wrote it yesterday, either: Bates has probably spent weeks considering his next move.

Frank Spaziani will be fired, most likely next weekend or early in the following week. I believe Bates is a smart man and will make the right decision, and if he has (a) watched the same team I’ve watched and (b) done his due diligence, then he knows Spaziani is a drag on this program and must be cut loose. Were Bates to retain Spaziani, then he’d get plenty of justified criticism, most of which would be from me, but I don’t think it’s fair to doubt him right now. Besides, he indicated early on that he would let Spaziani coach out the season, and that’s what he’s done. I don’t think it was necessary, but Bates was in a defensible position for saying that and he kept his word. That does not mean for one second that he won’t fire Spaziani very quickly once the season is over, and I expect as much.

Other coaches in college football have already been fired. Just today, Tennessee fired Derek Dooley. The difference between this situation and those others is that their athletics directors haven’t been on the job for a month. The Vols’ AD, Dave Hart, was hired in September 2011, giving him essentially two full seasons to evaluate. Kathy Beauregard of Western Michigan, who fired Bill Cubit this weekend, was hired at about the same as Gene DeFilippo. Joker Phillips of Kentucky was fired by Mitch Barnhart, on the job since 2002. Bates has been athletic director for six football games. As easy as it might be to pile on him, I can’t. All I can do is operate under my firm belief that when the calendar turns to December, Spaziani will already be long gone.

There are potential legitimate reasons why Bates hasn’t fired Spaziani yet, outside of the fact that he said he wouldn’t before the season ended. The school could be trying to work out the contractual terms of his dismissal (related to his buyout) or there may be other things happening behind the scenes about which we don’t know. In either case, we can’t assume Bates is too timid to can Spaziani before the end of the season because we’re not involved in the Athletics and/or booster meetings and we don’t know what’s being said.

I would love to see this team close out on a win, sans Spaz. They deserve it. The season, however, is being written off as a total loss. We knew that’s what it was going to be over a month ago, so at this point, all we can do is look forward. Frank Spaziani is as good as gone, and folks should not doubt that. Brad Bates will be here for a while and we will surely have our disagreements, and that’s perfectly fine. At this time, there is one game remaining. Once it is over, Bates will fire Spaziani and all of this hand-wringing will be forgotten, enabling us to push ahead with the rebuilding process. I am more worried about the next hire than erasing the previous one, which will happen all in good time. Have faith.

Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE

Last week, I argued on this very site that Boston College’s new athletic director, Brad Bates, deserved a honeymoon period. That applied also to his evaluation of the football program, and one Mr. Frank Spaziani of Hingham, MA. I said the following:

After his press conference, Bates gave some general platitudes in the direction of Frank Spaziani and indicated that he would be willing to wait until the season was over to make a full evaluation of his “body of work.”

As much as this blog and a number of fans and alumni want Spaziani gone, this is a totally defensible position and Bates deserves no backlash for it. From his perspective, he just got here. It would not be fair to expect him to have the depth of knowledge about the recent history of the program that we do — the fans have spent the last four years watching this thing crumble every day, while Bates was in Ohio not paying a lick of attention.

This is still a defensible position today, and Bates is within his rights to want to take the time to evaluate the program, but at this point, I must insist that following Saturday’s disaster at Florida State, Bates has already seen everything he needs to make his choice.

Boston College football is not getting better, and has not for the last four years. If anything, one could make a convincing argument that the 2012 Eagles are getting worse over the course of the season. Before Bates arrived, BC lost to Army for the first time in 17 years, and on Saturday, the Eagles suffered their worst defeat by points allowed and final margin in 12 years.

Yes, Saturday’s loss at Florida State was BC’s worst in over a decade.

We say they’re getting worse because the offensive line is not holding up as well as it had earlier in the season, the defense is very bad and still digging, and the coaching is as inept and useless as ever. Frank Spaziani has leveled this football program and left a smoking crater where it used to be. I regret to inform Bates that things are not likely to get any better. This is the Boston College football team we had before you got here, and is the same we will have the rest of the year. Saturday’s loss was not a fluke: it is part of a pronounced trend of failure, directly stemming from the inadequacy of the head football coach. This season is only half over and it has already yielded some of the most pitiful efforts I have seen in my nine years of watching BC football.

This was not some outlier. What Bates saw first-hand on Saturday evening was BC football in its current state. Spaziani’s body of work is terrible. It isn’t going to get much better, or better at all. There will be no miracle comeback for a bowl game, because a team with a defense this bad and a coach this gutless is incapable of winning 5 of 6 to close out the year. Spaziani has done enough damage to my alma mater, and he absolutely must go immediately.

Bates can wait if he wants, and we have to respect that choice if so, but I submit with all due respect that there is nothing he will see in the remaining six games that will speak well of this coach or what he has done to this team. Several years ago, BC was an elite team, contending with other elite teams. Now, we are legitimately one of the worst teams in FBS. That is not going to change in any appreciable manner.

Brad Bates can make this call now. Boston College must be rid of Frank Spaziani at once, and our new athletic director took a big step on Saturday to understanding why.

Boston College’s new athletic director, Brad Bates, has officially been on the job for less than one day. In that period, Bates has received shows of support from all across this school’s community. Whether he was your preferred candidate or not, he deserves that welcome, and with it the chance to succeed.

We do not yet know his policies on tailgating or donor-based seating, and he has not had time to hash out anything other than broad generalities regarding his vision for the program and how it will interact with the fans. Today was a day for platitudes. Tomorrow, it will be down to business, but today was for introduction, not policy.

The time for policy may not come for a little while. Bates will take the time to become acquainted with the program and educate himself on what needs attention. In a positive step, Bates has also expressed an interest in getting to know the fans. He said in a mass e-mail to donors this afternoon:

I look forward to seeing you in the stands, meeting you on campus and saying hello in person, once I have settled into my new role. I encourage you to stop by and visit whenever you are on campus. For now, thank you for all you do for Boston College.

It’s unclear if that is to be taken literally, but it is at least refreshing to see some sort of open-door policy. As fans, we have to hope that Bates will put stock in what we think, which would be a refreshing change from his predecessor. If he is as intelligent as he seems, then Bates knows that the fans are the customers, and if we aren’t happy, he’s not going to be happy.

Nevertheless, there is nothing to criticize Bates for today, and there should not be for some time. This extends beyond fan experience issues and into a key area of concern for many alumni: the football program and the future of the head coaching position. After his press conference, Bates gave some general platitudes in the direction of Frank Spaziani and indicated that he would be willing to wait until the season was over to make a full evaluation of his “body of work.”

As much as this blog and a number of fans and alumni want Spaziani gone, this is a totally defensible position and Bates deserves no backlash for it. From his perspective, he just got here. It would not be fair to expect him to have the depth of knowledge about the recent history of the program that we do — the fans have spent the last four years watching this thing crumble every day, while Bates was in Ohio not paying a lick of attention. Bates will get his education quickly, especially if the Eagles do not turn things around, but it would not at all be surprising to learn that he does not yet have a clear idea of just how bad things have gotten. He likely knows by now that this team is 1-4 and is staring at consecutive losing seasons, and may even have been schooled on the broader history of the football program (and where it was before Spaziani), but he has missed out on years of stagnation and losing. He will learn that it is a key priority for the fans, but give him the time to do it.

Many of us would prefer a coaching change now, but Bates has not heard the case yet, so he cannot be expected to issue a snap verdict. That does not change the fact, however, that Spaziani is on the clock and if his team keeps playing the same way every week, Bates will likely not be impressed. Do not look at this from the lens of “He’s keeping Spaz — we’re doomed;” rather, view it as Bates saying to Spaz “I’ve heard some not-so-good things, so I’m giving you a month and a half to prove to me that you should keep your job.” On this current trajectory, he won’t. It is very unfortunate for the seniors, but this season is probably lost, anyway. If Bates wants to study up and observe this team’s performance, then that is his right.

We will only have a problem with football if, at the conclusion of a losing season, Bates decides that Spaziani did a fine job and can stay. In that event, I would be prepared to unequivocally revoke my support for him, but he has not earned that yet. It would not require much more than basic competence to see how badly the football team has melted down since 2009, but we have to have faith that Bates will see it. If Bates is willing to listen to us on this and many other issues, then fans should voice their concerns to him respectfully and thoughtfully.

If we can see the problems, then chances are he can, too. Perhaps or perhaps not with our help, we have to stay calm for now and believe that he will realize where our issues lie and work towards fixing them.

The school announced on Tuesday afternoon that Brad Bates, current athletic director at Miami University in Ohio, will succeed Gene DeFilippo as Boston College’s AD. He has been athletics director for the Red Hawks since 2002.

Bates appeared as a walk-on for the Michigan Wolverines during his college football years, after which he became a graduate assistant at his alma mater and a strength coach at Colorado. Before heading to Oxford, Ohio, Bates spent 17 years at Vanderbilt as an assistant coach and athletics department figure.

Miami of Ohio has an FBS football program, but it is much better known for its hockey (and doubtlessly, Bates is familiar with Boston College and having lost to said school in the past). If anything can be said for Bates, he did play for and work with BCS-conference football programs.

Fans will doubtlessly want to learn more about his policies on gameday experience, ticket prices, donor seating, and much more, but for now, most only have one concern: the future of one Mr. Frank Spaziani.

The immutable truth is this: Spaziani is now going “on the clock.” It is nearly impossible to believe that Bates, or anyone else that could have been hired, will be impressed with the state of the BC football program. It is only natural for a new athletic director to want his or her own coaches, especially if the current one is doing a bad job. Frank Spaziani is doing a job that would have to get better just to be considered bad.

For his first task, it is clear what the fans want and the team needs: Bates must fire Spaziani; to delay well beyond the end of the season or neglect to do so entirely would risk him losing the confidence of the fans early in his tenure. He must also succeed with the replacement hire, or none of this was worth it.

At this point, as it pertains to Bates swinging the hammer on BC football, it is still not clear when that will happen. It had better happen during the calendar year of 2012, or else Bates is not the right man for this job. It is obvious to fans and football writers, however, that any new athletic director would have been tasked with the firing of Spaziani. Right now, Bates must understand that blowing the football program up, so to speak, and starting over with competent, respected coaches and little interference is his top priority. Regardless of personal feeling on the matter, the fans will gradually abandon a team that has the stench of death around it, which is what Spaziani instilled. Its negative impact on our school’s reputation is clear, as BC football is now the punch line of jokes.

Bates does not seem like the flashiest candidate, but it is up to all of us to give him a fair chance. If he proves not to be serious about fixing the program, however, then blame those who hired him. I don’t care about graduation rates right now — they will be fine around here under just about any athletic director. What matters is the future of this program: are we going to fix this mess or are we going to make a half-assed attempt and give up like Holy Cross? That is the crossroads in front of us, and Bates.

Bates’s task ahead is not easy, but with any luck, he is prepared to meet those challenges. Welcome to Boston College, Mr. Bates.