CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College Athletics has received a $1.25 million gift from James "Jim" Maher '71 to endow a full-time head coaching position for the BC skiing program. The James R. Maher Head Ski Coach Endowment will help propel a program which has made great strides in recent years.
 
"This historic gift from Jim Maher will have a profound and lasting impact on our Boston College ski program for years to come," said William V. Campbell Director of Athletics Blake James. "We're so appreciative of his incredible generosity and can't thank him enough for his dedication to our student-athletes and the future success of our program."
 
Maher, a former captain of the BC ski team, graduated from the Carroll School of Management in 1971 and received an MBA from Columbia University. He went on to a successful career as an investment banker on Wall Street. Maher was Vice Chairman and a member of the Operating Committee of The First Boston Corporation. He later was a Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock Kelso Capital Investment Corporation.
 
Maher has four children who are avid skiers. His daughter Elizabeth "Liz" Daniels was also a skier at Boston College. She graduated from the Morrissey School of Arts & Sciences in 2002 and later earned a graduate degree from the Lynch School of Education.
 
"As a BC graduate and former captain of the ski team, as well as the parent of a former skiing student-athlete, I am very proud and honored to be able to endow the ski head coaching position," said Maher. "I hope this gift continues to help advance BC's ski program and I look forward to following the team in the years to come as it builds on the tremendous momentum of the last few seasons."
 
Since sending its first athlete to the NCAA Championships in 2018, the Eagles have sent seven other skiers to the national championships. This past season, Chiara Maria Ferrari became the first freshman at Boston College ever to qualify for NCAA's when she competed in Park City, Utah.