BC will host Georgia Tech in Ireland for Aer Lingus College Football Classic

Boston College will open the 2016 college football season in Ireland against Georgia Tech on September 3, 2016.

The Eagles will return to Ireland almost 30 years since they first played there against Army in the original Emerald Isle Classic in 1988.

Dignitaries from Ireland and Boston gathered in the Yawkey Athletics Center at Alumni Stadium to formally announce the matchup and unveil the title sponsorship of Aer Lingus. The game, a BC “home game”, will officially be called the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

“I think it's a great experience for the kids, I really do,” said BC head coach Steve Addazio. “I'm looking forward to it as well. I just think it's part of the college experience and I know the kids want to do it. They love an opportunity like this.

“I think it's great. I think it's great for football. I think it's great for BC. I think it's great for our players.”

Addazio couldn't contain his excitement as he stood behind the dais to share his initial public thoughts on the trip.

"We are going to get there earlier and enjoy everything about Dublin and about Ireland," said Addazio. "But we are also going to go win a football game. That's something that we want to do. We want to sing our fight song, "For Boston," in the locker room in the stadium after that game after we win and we want to bring that trophy home and have the best experience of all time."

Aside from the tangible benefit of increasing BC's exposure abroad, Addazio sees positives to having this game on the slate more than 15 months before it's played.

“Recruiting,” said Addazio. “It's great to be able to say to families and parents of players, ‘You're going to be part of this great trip to Ireland in 2016 and play Georgia Tech over there and getting the experience of a different country.”

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a Boston College graduate, was instrumental in negotiating the plans for the Aer Lingus Classic, and shared memories of his trip to Ireland in 1988 when BC beat Army in the original Emerald Isle Classic.

“The football program was starting to get kind of big around here,” said Walsh. “It was a great opportunity. It was the first football game played in Ireland. It was a new sport and a lot of people today follow American football so it opened the door for another conversation. It really opened the door for football in England and Ireland.

“It was a well-run show at the time. Now Ireland has all the bells and whistles with their stadiums. They have the lights, everything we do now in their sports leagues now, too. It will be an incredible opportunity.”

The matchup with Georgia Tech right out of the gate poses issues as well, as preparations for an ACC game will ramp up immediately once fall camp starts.

“It will be hard,” said Addazio. “Their style of offense is very different. Without a doubt, it's a unique challenge. From a football standpoint that's a tough piece. This year we're opening up with Maine and Howard. Now we're going to go, ‘Boom!' and play one of the top schools in the conference. So it's a challenge, but you know what? It's great.”

“I'm well aware of the challenges. How hard it is to get on a plane and travel that far and play in a game, but I think the experience and the exchange between Dublin and us is great for our school and that outweighs all that.”

The travel abroad might suggest the Eagles deserve an open date following the matchup in Ireland, but Addazio hesitated when asked about that topic.

“It's a little early for an open date,” he said.

Read more about Boston College's 2016 trip to Ireland at BC2Ireland.com

Cox Media Group