Boston College announced on Thursday a plan for a new men’s and women’s basketball facility on the heels of a $15 million gift from University trustee Michaela “Mikey” Hoag, BC ’86, and her husband Jay. The facility, named the Hoag Basketball Pavilion, will include approximately 40,000 square feet of basketball-specific space.
“It was important to us to support both basketball programs and help position them for success for years to come,” said Mikey and Jay Hoag in a statement from BC Athletics. “The belief we have in the future of both programs under Earl Grant and Joanna Bernabei-McNamee’s leadership, along with the direction of BC Athletics under Pat Kraft, was a critical factor for us. We feel very fortunate to be able to help future generations of student-athletes improve both on and off the court in this exciting new facility.”
The facility will be connected to Conte Forum and include a 10,700 square foot practice gym, six courts, instructional areas, and a replica court of that in Conte Forum. The Hoag Pavilion will also include a 2,220 square foot strength and conditioning center attached to the practice courts, a 1,400 square foot sports medicine center, and 2,100 square foot locker rooms, including lounges and video review rooms.
“We are most grateful for the generosity of Mikey and Jay Hoag on this transformational facility for our basketball programs,” Athletics Director Pat Kraft said in the statement. “From the first time I spoke to the Hoags, their love for Boston College was clearly evident. We can’t thank them enough for making this tremendous gift, which greatly enhances the future of both our men’s and women’s basketball programs and the student-athletes who will benefit from their new, state-of-the-art, home away from home.”
The project is the latest endeavor in a series of constructions for BC Athletics. BC football’s practice facility, the Fish Field House, was completed in 2018, and the Pete Frates Center, which services the baseball and softball programs, was completed last fall.
A basketball-specific facility has long been an area of need for the Eagles, as BC is one of the only ACC schools not to boast a designated facility for its basketball programs. The new space should help motivate potential recruits for both men’s basketball head coach Earl Grant and women’s basketball head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee.
The men’s program has not pulled in a top-10 class in the ACC since 2011, and its 2021 class ranks 14th, a concerning sign for a roster that has been left threadbare after a spate of departures.
Mikey Hoag is the chair and founder of “Part the Cloud,” an Alzheimers’ research association in Silicon Valley. In 2017, she was awarded the Jerome H. Stone Philanthropy Award for Alzheimer’s Research, which was the first time the award went to an individual rather than a corporation or foundation.
She also received the 2010 John P. Curley Award from BC Athletics, which honors an outstanding volunteer who has committed time and resources to advance BC Athletics. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2007.
Jay Hoag is a founding general partner of TCV, a venture capital firm in Menlo Park, Calif.
Featured Image by Jonathan Ye / Heights Senior Staff
