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Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo to retire on September 30

defilippo

Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo surprised some folks on Friday, as it was announced that he has decided to retire from his post effective September 30.

DeFilippo, who has led the athletic department on the Heights since 1997, led the program’s transition into the Atlantic Coast Conference and has seen the school win 11 national titles under his watch.

“My wife Anne and I have been discussing this decision for some time and we agree that this is the right time for me to retire,” DeFilippo said in a statement released by the school. “It is also the right time for Boston College to have new leadership in the athletics director’s position.

“In light of my recent bout with melanoma, which is treatable, this decision became clearer to me this summer. After the intensity of 40 years of intercollegiate athletics, this change will enable me to spend more time with Anne, my three children, and our granddaughter, Katherine.

“I look forward to this next stage of my personal and professional life.”

DeFilippo is the second ACC athletic director to announce his retirement within the last month, with Clemson’s Terry Don Phillips doing the same on August 9.

“What Gene has meant to Boston College is hard to put into words,” said basketball coach Steve Donahue in the school release.

“He reinvented the Athletics Department in his 15 years as AD; everything we have is based on Gene’s vision. It’s very rare that you find someone who has the vision and the guts to follow it. He is going to be missed.”

Senior Associate AD John Kane will serve as interim athletic director beginning on October 1 until the school hires a new athletic director.

While DeFilippo will be remembered by many for his role in advancing Boston College athletics, his comments on ACC expansion last October turned some heads when it came to the impact of television and the decision to invite Pittsburgh instead of Connecticut.

Photo credit: John Wilcox/Boston Herald

Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.