Boston College Athletic Director Blake James Shares Date of 2026 Red Bandanna Game

The game honors the life and legacy of Boston College alum Welles Crowther (‘99) who lost his life in the 9/11 attacks.

Nov 8, 2025; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles wide receiver Dawson Pough (88) runs the ball against the Southern Methodist University Mustangs during the first half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Boston College athletic director Blake James sat down with Jon Meterparel for an interview that was shared to Boston College Athletics’ YouTube page. 

During the interview, James touched on a number of football topics including the offseason changes, revenue sharing, and the 2026 schedule. 

“You look at this schedule, you have SMU who was in the mix there to play for the ACC championship,” said James. “We're playing them in Dallas. Miami who went to the national championship game. Duke who won the ACC championship. Georgia Tech who was right there.”

James also revealed that Boston College’s annual Red Bandanna Game will be held at Alumni Stadium on Friday, Sept. 11 when the team plays Rutgers. 

“We have Rutgers here. Rutgers is going to be a great day,” said James. “The thing I will share is that game is going to be on Friday, September 11th. And so 25 years after the September 11th horrific situation that happened here in this country. To be able to have Rutgers in Boston College on that night, that'll be our Red Bandanna Game. And so it's one that we're looking forward to continuing to never forget what happened on that day and we'll have a special night here with Rutgers on Friday, September 11th. But we'll get the full schedule out and we can talk about that in our next get together.”

The Red Bandanna Game is an annual tradition Boston College holds to honor the life and legacy of Welles Crowther, a BC alum (‘99) who lost his life in the 9/11 attacks. He was credited with saving as many as 18 lives in the South Tower. 

The date announcement cements Boston College’s non-conference slate for 2026. 

BC will open its season at Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 5 and then will take on Rutgers for the team’s home opener on Friday, Sept. 11. 

Boston College will also host Maine on Saturday, Sept. 19 and travel to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame on Saturday, Nov. 14. 

As for the ACC schedule, the Eagles will host Florida State, Pitt, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech as well as travel to Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, and SMU. 

Boston College’s full schedule will be revealed on Monday night on a special edition of ACC Huddle at 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network. 

The non-conference kickoff times will be announced later in the year while the conference kickoff times will be released on Mondays throughout the season.