Boston College, Iowa To Meet In Pinstripe Bowl

Boston College in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State. Photo by Jason Schott.

The University of Iowa and Boston College have accepted invitations to play in the 2017 New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, December 27, with kickoff scheduled for 5:15 p.m. 

Boston College is making its second appearance in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, as they were here in 2014 and lost to Penn State.

It is BC's 26th bowl appearance all-time,  and Head Coach Steve Addazio has led the Eagles to four bowls in five years, the first coach in school history to achieve that.




The Eagles won five of its last six games, finishing the regular season with a 7-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the ACC.

Boston College tied a school record with nine players earning All-ACC football honors in 2017. Freshman running back AJ Dillon became the first player in school history to be named ACC “Rookie of the Year.” He also received the nod as ACC “Offensive Rookie of the Year” and was selected as the league’s top overall first-year player after rushing for 1,432 yards, the second-highest total by any freshman in ACC history. Dillon ended the regular season ranked second among all freshmen nationally in rushing and 15th among all players. He owns the school’s freshman rushing record and is tied for sixth on the single-season rushing chart.

Junior free safety Lukas Denis and junior offensive tackle Chris Lindstrom earned second team All-ACC honors, senior defensive end Harold Landry, senior linebacker Ty Schwab, junior tight end Tommy Sweeney and junior specialist Michael Walker collected third team All-ACC accolades and junior defensive end Zach Allen and junior offensive guard Sam Schmal were named All-ACC honorable mention.

"We look forward to continuing our season in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in New York City," said Boston College's William V. Campbell Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond. “The New Era Pinstripe Bowl provides an opportunity for our team to end the year with six wins in the last seven games for the first time since 1993, which would give us great momentum heading into next season."

Iowa, led by head coach Kirk Ferentz, will be making its 16th bowl appearance in the last 17 seasons. Under Ferentz, the Hawkeyes are 6-8 in bowl games, marking the third-most bowl victories among Big Ten schools since 2001. Ferentz led Iowa to a 7-5 record this year (4-5, Big Ten) and is one win away from tying Hayden Fry as the school’s all-time winningest football coach.

Sophomore quarterback Nate Stanley, senior running back Akrum Wadley and sophomore tight end Noah Fant helped lead the Iowa offense this season. Stanley threw for 25 touchdown passes, tying for third all-time in single-season program history – two shy of Chuck Long’s record of 27. Wadley became the fourth Hawkeye in Iowa’s history to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and became one of only 11 players in Big Ten history with consecutive seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards and 25-plus receptions (2017: 1,021 rushing yards and 26 receptions / 2016: 1,081 rushing yards and 36 receptions). Fant recorded 28 receptions, including a team-high 10 touchdowns – a single-season record for an Iowa tight end and the most by a Hawkeye since Marvin McNutt caught 12 touchdown passes in 2012.

Defensively, senior linebacker Josey Jewell and junior defensive back Josh Jackson led the way. Jewell was the recipient of the Jack Labert Award given to the best linebacker in the nation and Jackson was the recipient of the Jack Tatum Award given to the best defensive back in the nation as recognized by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Jackson was also named the Tatum-Woodson “Defensive Back of the Year” in the Big Ten Conference after leading the country with 25 passes defended and sharing an NCAA lead with seven interceptions and 18 passes broken up. Jewell registered 125 tackles this season, most in the Big Ten and seventh nationally. He was also named the Nagurski-Woodson “Defensive Player of the Year” and the Butkus-Fitzgerald “Linebacker of the Year” in the Big Ten Conference after registering 125 tackles this season, most in the conference and seventh-most in the nation.

“Our football program and the University of Iowa are excited to be invited to participate at the New Era Pinstripe Bowl,” said Iowa's Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Athletics Director Chair Gary Barta. “Having never participated in a bowl event in New York, we look forward to visiting for the bowl game and all of the events leading up to the game day experience.

“Coach Kirk Ferentz, his staff, and our student-athletes, are excited to extend the season with this opportunity, and to build on the momentum from our final game of the regular season. As a department we look forward to visiting New York and performing in an area of the country where many of our fans and alumni may not have been able to see our team in person. We know Boston College will provide a strong challenge, and at the same time we look forward to the competition and enjoying the hospitality New York will provide during the holiday season.”

Mark Holtzman, Executive Director of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, said, “We are delighted to welcome the student-athletes, staff and families of Iowa and Boston College to the 2017 New Era Pinstripe Bowl. There is no better place to experience an event than Yankee Stadium and nothing quite like New York City during the holiday season. We are thrilled to play a part in helping to create what will undoubtedly be a memorable experience for all.”

This year’s game will be nationally televised by ESPN and will be broadcasted by ESPN Radio.

Special events, promotions and community outreach will take place throughout New Era Pinstripe Bowl week to once again create an unforgettable experience for fans, families, students and staff. Scheduled visits to noteworthy New York City landmarks will include One World Observatory, the 9/11 Memorial, the New York Stock Exchange, Radio City Music Hall, and more.

In addition, a special trophy tour will also see the George M. Steinbrenner Trophy visit the campuses of both Iowa and Boston College.

Tickets for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl are currently on sale at www.pinstripebowl.com, the official website of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, and www.ticketmaster.com. For up-to-the-moment information regarding the game, fans are also encouraged to follow the Bowl game’s official Twitter and Instagram accounts – @PinstripeBowl.