Lights Out
"Athletics at Georgetown, as least as was known prior to 1943, had ceased to exist. A handful of intramural sports existed for the remaining civilians as the servicemen had no such time to spend playing sports: theirs was... physical training on the upper fields, parade marches on Copley Lawn, and training classes throughout the day."
Season's Beatings
"From 1973 to 1997, Georgetown University met Saint Leo College 16 times and won every time...More than one basketball fan nationwide perused a box score from their hometown paper in the 1980s and 1990s and asked themselves why a team like Georgetown was playing this little known school."
The Arrival
"Thirty years ago, an 18 year old walked up to the front door of McDonough Gymnasium and went inside prior to the onset of the playoff round of the Kenner summer league. In an era before the Internet, before cell phones, and certainly before social media, he arrived virtually unknown."
The Nemesis
"Every hero needs a villain. In the 1970s, as John Thompson's star was ascendant on the Hilltop, a fellow warrior stood 11 miles away... For eight seasons in the 1970s, the Georgetown-Maryland rivalry captured the attention of Washington basketball as it had never done before, and has not since."
The Game Of The Decade
"On December 11, 1982, #3 ranked Georgetown met #1 ranked Virginia before a sold out crowd of 19,035 at Capital Centre and millions of viewers at homes around the nation. The game changed how television networks cover the game, and was the first major college sports event ever broadcast on cable TV."
The House That Abe Built
"This fall, the building now known as Capital One Arena celebrates its 25th anniversary as a cornerstone of the Nation's Capital, as well as an integral part of the Georgetown University basketball experience. That is exists at all is a monument to a man who would not take no for an answer, and in so doing, changed the course of the city itself."
Book Reviews
"For readers unfamiliar with any or all of these works, we've created a series of reviews of these books, including contemporary comments by the authors themselves on how the books came to be and their thoughts on the projects."
1972
"The players were set up for failure--sent on the road for 16 of 26 games totalling nearly 12,000 miles of travel, not for the promise of competitive glory but to settle a grudge: an athletic director who wanted to run off the basketball coach...It was the season that fundamentally changed the role of basketball at Georgetown."
One Night In Beijing
"Georgetown University has undertaken five international trips for its men's basketball team, but none as memorable as its visit to the People's Republic of China in 2011. A decade later, the images and stories from its Aug. 18, 2011 game against the Bayi Rockets still resonate with fans."
The Ones That Got Away
"Some of these names are well known to Hoya fans, others less so. Many of the players went on to All-America status in college and NBA careers, and one can only pause and wonder how they would have added to the legend and traditions of basketball at the Hilltop."
The Fix Was In
"I played in a college basketball game that was fixed," Tagliabue said, recalling the 1961 game at Madison Square Garden against NYU. "We beat the hell out of NYU. It was the biggest victory in my three years of basketball at Georgetown. Turns out that guys at NYU were taking money to shave points."
Last Call
"Somewhere, the likes of Dave Gavitt and Jim Boeheim were rolling their eyes in collective amusement that the best team in the Big Eight was heading to McDonough Gym in the upcoming season. And as the schedule progressed, these were two teams were on a collision course in the most unlikely venue seen on national television in years."
40 For 40
"This list honors the 40 greatest players across the past four decades of Big East basketball. Individuals were selected based on a number of objective and subjective criteria, including statistical records, their impact upon the program at the time of their play, and the records set during their career."
The Renovation That Never Was
"And while the plans for the renovation never saw the public light of day, here's another thought: is there a comparable renovation that could address the main floor, the seating portion of the gymnasium, and do it in a way that doesn't involve tearing up the structure of the building and engendering years of permits? If so, what would it look like?"
Reclaiming The Birthright
"But what the basketball schools didn't ask for is even more compelling, and tells the second half of this remarkable wager: they didn't acquire the corporate assets of the conference, or in this case, its liabilities. With some help from a Georgetown alumnus, the basketball schools were about to deliver a one-two punch to ESPN and the college basketball world."
Crossing The Line
"The largest Catholic university south of the Mason-Dixon Line, it consciously avoided the issue of integration while the issue was growing externally in importance and resolve across the country. Athletics, a visible face of the University, reflected this approach. At one time, it was deemed acceptable. Soon, it became indefensible."
The Builder
"Frank Rienzo's role in the formation of the Big East cannot be understated...Were [he] not in those formative meetings, Georgetown basketball today may well have been consigned to the present day Colonial Athletic Association, foretelling a much different future for athletics across the University than it enjoys today."
Animal Farm
"In 1966, Georgetown had no Cameron Crazies, but they did have the Animal Section, a section of seats reserved at McDonough Gymnasium for upperclassmen that would cheer, boo, and generally be loud for 40 minutes, win or lose."
The Graduates
"In the past 12 years, 44 of 46 athletes who played four years have graduated", wrote the University. "But a closer look begs the question: who were the two?"
Forgotten Rivals
"Fifty years ago, a different group was considered [Georgetown's] rival schools, and many are forgotten today. This feature looks at five such schools whose names resonate through the fabric of basketball at Georgetown. Will we ever see their likes again?"
The Early Years
"If all Maurice Joyce had ever done was serve as the first coach of basketball at Georgetown University, that alone would be a story worth telling. In fact, his four years were just one of any number of stops among a remarkable journey that took him to careers ranging from a circus performer to that of a United States marshal."
The Names Behind The News
"It is a job with little recognition, long hours and a constant battle to stay ahead of the news cycle. But it's also been said that no one understands college athletics like a sports information director."
The First Four
"World War II had called all but two members of the previous season's team to wartime duty. With six sophomores, two freshmen, and and one senior for his rotation, few expected Elmer Ripley 's "Kiddie Korps" to actually compete, much less dominate its schedule."
Team Moderate Temperature
The significance of the Duke victory is that it created...a "watershed moment of self-realization and pride, not just about our basketball team but the greatness of Georgetown as a whole." The continuing relevance of the Duke victory today is that nearly every student on campus is more likely to believe that such a moment can always be waiting at the next game."
The Last Of His Era
"This site had the privilege of interviewing the oldest living member of the Georgetown basketball family, John Schmitt (C'40)..."Athletes got no special privileges by the faculty of the day, most of whom were Jesuits. "If you got in trouble, you were going home," Schmitt recalled. "If you didn't come prepared to class, you were gone."
The Best Of The Best
"In the following series I attempt to expand a bar conversation that has raged between my Georgetown friends and I for the past 25 years or so, specifically, who are the greatest Hoya players and why?"