Georgetown University Sports: A Legacy of Traditions and Triumphs

Georgetown University, situated in Washington, D.C., boasts a rich and storied athletic history, deeply intertwined with unique traditions and a passionate fanbase. From its early days of informal student games to its modern-day Division I presence, Georgetown athletics have consistently reflected the university's spirit and values. The Georgetown Hoyas, as the university's athletic teams are known, compete with pride and tenacity across a diverse range of sports.

The Hoyas: A Name Etched in Stone

The moniker "Hoyas" is derived from the chant "Hoya Saxa," a blend of Greek and Latin translating to "What Rocks." This chant gained traction in the late 19th century and evolved into the team name by the 1920s. Before that, "Hilltoppers" was also a name sometimes used for the sports teams. The term "Hoya" was increasingly used on campus, including for the newspaper and the school mascot. In 1920, students began publishing the campus's first sports newspaper under the name The Hoya, after successfully petitioning the Dean of the college to use it instead of the proposed name, The Hilltopper. This distinctive name has, at times, led to opponents taunting Georgetown with the question, "What's a Hoya?"

Jack the Bulldog: More Than Just a Mascot

While the nickname is "The Hoyas," the official mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." The tradition of using dogs as mascots dates back to the early 1900s. Several notable bull terriers, including Sergeant Stubby and "Hoya," graced football games in the 1920s, and a Great Dane even served as mascot in the 1940s. In 1964, when exhibition football games resumed, students financed the purchase of an English bulldog named Royal Jacket. Although they intended to rename him "Hoya," he only responded to "Jack," a name that has been passed down through generations of bulldog mascots.

The breed was chosen to represent the school because of their "tenacity." The athletics department subsequently adopted as its logo a drawing of a bulldog sporting a blue and gray freshman beanie. The original Jack retired in 1967, but the name was carried over to his successors. In 1999, Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., with the help of the Hoya Blue fan club, revived the tradition of an official live bulldog named Jack, to work along with the costumed mascot. When Pilarz left for the University of Scranton in 2003, taking Jack with him, Georgetown secured a new bulldog puppy and found another Jesuit, Christopher Steck, S.J., to care for him. The current bulldog is named "John S.

Blue and Gray: Colors of Tradition

Blue and gray are the official colors of Georgetown University and its athletic teams. These colors serve as a constant reminder of the university's rich history. The basketball and lacrosse teams primarily use gray for their home jerseys and blue for their away jerseys. White is also frequently used as an accent color. White is actually the main color in the football and baseball teams' away jerseys and the soccer team's home jerseys.

"There Goes Old Georgetown": The Fight Song

The Georgetown Fight Song, known as "There Goes Old Georgetown", is actually an amalgamation of three songs, only the oldest of which, 1913's "The Touchdown Song", contains the lyric "here goes old Georgetown". Notably, Georgetown's fight song is unique among university fight songs for mentioning other colleges by name, including Yale University, Harvard University, Princeton University, College of the Holy Cross, the United States Naval Academy, and Cornell University - all former rivals in the early to mid-20th century. The song humorously mocks their respective fight songs.

A Diverse Athletic Program

Georgetown University fields 29 varsity level sports teams; 13 men's teams, 15 women's teams, and one co-ed team. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Big East Conference, with the exception of the Division I FCS Patriot League in football and women's heavyweight rowing. The University also fields 5 non-NCAA varsity teams in men's heavyweight and lightweight rowing, women's lightweight rowing, women's squash, and sailing. In late 2012, Georgetown and six other Catholic, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the Big East for a new conference.

Baseball: A Storied Past

Baseball holds the distinction of being Georgetown's oldest sport, with the first recorded game occurring in 1866 and the team formally organized in 1870. In 1899, Georgetown took the intercollegiate baseball world by storm, winning 18 of 20 games against college teams, beating national powers Princeton and Yale three times each and Virginia twice. Upon their triumphant return from their northern trip at the conclusion of that year, the championship team was escorted from the train station to Georgetown in a torchlight parade led by a carriage of top university officials and included students on horseback, alumni, students from the three schools, and the college band. They were greeted with fireworks once back on campus. Despite this rich history, the Hoyas have yet to make an appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship since its inception in 1947. The team was once known as the Stonewalls, and is one possible source of the Hoya Saxa cheer famous among all Georgetown sports teams.

Men's Basketball: A National Powerhouse

The Georgetown University men's basketball team is the most well-known Hoya program. Georgetown's first intercollegiate men's basketball team was formed in 1907. The team gained national prominence in the 1980s, under the guidance of Head Coach John Thompson Jr., after the creation of the Big East Conference. As the Big East became a national sensation, Georgetown quickly developed a heated rivalry with teams like Syracuse. The Hoyas made consistent appearances in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Final Four three times and securing the national championship in 1984. The team's star player, Patrick Ewing, returned to the basketball team in 2017 - this time as Head Coach. 2022 Naismith Coach of the Year Ed Cooley is the team's current head coach. The men's basketball team plays most of their home games at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C.

Women's Basketball: Growing Success

The women's basketball team also competes in the Big East Conference and is coached by James Howard. The team was first formed in 1970, and joined the Big East in 1983.

Football: A Resurgence

The football team at Georgetown was first formed on November 1, 1874, with the earliest recorded games dating to 1887. By the 1940s, Georgetown had one of the better college football teams in America, and played in the 1941 Orange Bowl, where they lost 14-7 to Mississippi State. In 1964, Georgetown allowed its students to start a football program as an exhibition-only club sport. Varsity football resumed in 1970 at what later became known as the Division III level. Today, Georgetown plays at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, competing in the Patriot League and perennially plays against Ivy League schools. The Hoyas have also begun a cross-town rivalry with Howard University for a championship known as the D.C.

Golf: Big East Champions

The men's golf team has won four Big East Conference championships: 1998, 2010, 2016, and 2018. The women's golf team has won two Big East Conference championships: 2017 and 2018. They are coached by Tommy Hunter, who was named Big East Coach of the Year in 2010. They have crowned two national champions: Maurice McCarthy Jr.

Lacrosse: A Force to Be Reckoned With

Both the men's and women's lacrosse teams have been highly competitive in recent years, both in conference and tournament play. A men's lacrosse team was first organized in 1951, and entered Division 1 play in 1970. The team played in the Eastern College Athletic Conference until the 2010 season, when the Big East Conference created a men's league. The women's lacrosse team was formed in 1977, and won the first 6 consecutive Big East titles from 2001 to 2006. The Lady Hoyas reached the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship final in both 2001 and 2002.

Rowing: A History of National Championships

Rowing at Georgetown has a distinguished history dating back to the founding of the Boat Club in 1876. The men have won 7 national championships at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta, the most recent being the men's varsity lightweight fours with coxswain on June 1, 2024. Georgetown's four crew teams have seen success in recent years, including trips to the Henley Royal Regatta and entry into the Eastern Sprints for the men's heavyweight and lightweight teams and second-in-the-nation finishes for both men's and women's lightweight teams. Many Georgetown oarsmen and -women have gone on to represent the United States on national and Olympic teams. The lightweight women's team has earned bronze medals at Women's Eastern Sprints in the Lightweight Women's Varsity 8+ in 2013 and the Lightweight Women's Varsity 4+ in 2015. The university rents space in Thompson Boat Center, though it has ongoing plans to build a new boathouse closer to campus. For land workouts, Georgetown rowers have an erg room in the Thompson Athletic Center.

Sailing: National Champions

The sailing team competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) of the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). Olympic Committee (USOC) Male Sailing Athlete of the Year in 2002 and 2005, and ICSA College Sailor of the Year in 2006. He is one of the six team members awarded as College Sailors of the Year on seven occasions, as Nevin Snow has taken the prize twice, in 2015 and 2016. Campbell helped lead the team to the first of their 14 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association National Championships since 2001, and are the reigning national co-ed champions as of 2016. During this time the team also won seven MAISA conference championships, known as the America Trophy. After the team's 2013 national championship, they were invited to participate in the 2014 World University Match Racing Championships in Trentino, Italy, on Lago di Ledro, which they won 7-1, besting nineteen teams from fourteen countries. The Hoyas won the Leonard M.

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Men's Soccer: National Champions

The men's soccer team was organized in 1952, and won a national championship in 2019. That year was their second national title game, having been runners up in 2012, with nine total NCAA Tournament appearances. They play in the Big East Conference, and have won the conference tournament four times and the regular season seven times. They are coached by Brian Wiese, and play their home games on campus at North Kehoe Field. Six players from the men's soccer team have played professionally for Major League Soccer: Phil Wellington (drafted in 1996), Brandon Leib (1997), Eric Kvello (1999), Dan Gargan 2004 (Selected 43rd overall in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft), Jeff Curtin 2005 (1st round draft Pick #14 overall), and Steve Neumann 2014 (1st round draft pick in 2014 MLS SuperDraft, 4th overall pick). Ricky Schramm, who played on the 2006 Hoyas, was drafted in the 3rd round by D.C.

Track & Field and Cross Country: Individual Excellence

Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in recent years, both nationally and in the Mid-Atlantic Region. In 2011, the women's cross country program won the NCAA Championship by besting Big East rival Villanova. Chris Miltenberg, women's cross country coach, won the 2011 NCAA coach of the year for women's cross country. Patrick Henner is the director of men's and women's track and field as of 2012. Georgetown track and field has won 21 individual NCAA National Championships, being 15 by male athletes and 6 by female athletes. The first individual NCAA National Champion was Charles Capozzoli in cross country in 1952.

Club Sports: A Wide Array of Options

Georgetown University fields numerous club sports teams. They range from club versions of varsity sports, such as tennis or basketball, to sports for which there is no varsity equivalent, such as men and women's Water Polo Clubs or Ultimate Frisbee. The men's and women's boxing teams compete as part of the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association. The Georgetown University Rugby Football Club is the intercollegiate men's rugby union team that represents Georgetown in the USA Rugby Division II competition. It was founded in the spring semester of 1967 by former members of the Washington, D.C., Rugby Football Club, including graduate student Michael Murphy. In 2005, Georgetown's first reached the Final Four of the USA Rugby Collegiate Division II National Tournament. A women's rugby team was founded in 2000, and plays in Division II in the Potomac Rugby Union (PRU). They have won the PRU championship four consecutive times from 2006 to 2009. Georgetown's ice hockey team plays in the ACHA Division II in the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) as one of three teams whose primary conference is not the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

After Bernard Muir left the position as the Director of the Athletic Department on May 11, 2009, a year long search for a replacement began. Dr. Daniel R. Charles R. Vincent S. H. Rome F. Joseph T. John J. Rome F. Robert H. Francis X. Joseph C. Daniel R.

Student Engagement and Sports Culture

Despite the university’s historic successes and national sports identity, student attendance at games, particularly for men’s basketball, has sometimes been lackluster. The athletics department plays an important role in engaging students and fostering their support for Georgetown sports teams, including through giveaways and advertising games to the student body.

To address this, the athletics department has been implementing a sports advertising approach on campus, building awareness about games by advertising in spaces that are easily accessible to students. The department has been implementing a similar sports advertising approach on campus. During fall move-in weekend, athletics took time to hand out t-shirts to new students across campus. Flyers for upcoming games have begun popping up on tables in the Leavey Center. Corwin suggested that posters may begin popping up too, informing students of teams’ season schedules to drive turnout.

Hoya Blue and Pep Band also play crucial roles in Georgetown’s student-fan experience, promoting a lighthearted atmosphere around athletics. Student athletes also have a growing role in promoting games and attracting fans on social media, making them more approachable and fostering a sense of connection with the student body.

Traditions Beyond the Field

Georgetown's athletic traditions extend beyond the games themselves. Before organized sports, students enjoyed playing handball on the current site of Village A. The front lawn was where students would play football and baseball in the late 1800s. Around this time, it was popular for schools to have distinctive chants for fans to cheer at sporting events. Georgetown students came up with the chant "Hoya Saxa," which some have translated from Greek and Latin to mean "What Rocks" - a possible reference to the stone wall built alongside the front lawn. After using the name "Hilltoppers" for awhile, Georgetown's sports teams became popularly known as the Georgetown Hoyas by the 1920s and the cheer "Hoya Saxa" is still used commonly at Georgetown today.

As organized athletics took hold at Georgetown, Ryan Gymnasium - now the Davis Performing Arts Center - was opened in 1906 as the university's first athletic facility. After outgrowing Ryan, McDonough Arena was constructed in 1951, named after Fr. Vincent McDonough, the long-time Director of Athletics.

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