On Tuesday afternoon, Boston College made the announcement that the Board of Trustees has selected Father John “Jack” Butler as the University’s 26th president, after current University President Willliam Leahy steps down in the summer of 2026. This news has been a long time coming after Father Leahy announced his plans to retire back in June of 2024.
If you’re looking for information regarding Father Butler’s attitude towards Boston College athletics, you’ll be pleased to know that he has served as the chaplain to the Boston College football team since 2010 and is very close to those who are involved in that program. Bill O’Brien has mentioned him by name as someone that he has been pleased to work with in his first year as Boston College football head coach, which should hopefully be a good omen when it comes to those of us that would like to see the Boston College administration make a large commitment to its athletics programs.
In addition to his role within BC athletics, Father Butler has been a key contributor to Boston College’s administration since 2010 when he joined the senior leadership team. You can read more about his resume here in the official statement Boston College released, alongside this article from The Heights that was written in November about Father Butler’s outreach to social workers.