Traditions Georgetown Hoyas

1 traditions

1.1 word hoya
1.2 mascot
1.3 colors
1.4 fight song

traditions
the word hoya

the university admits precise origin of term hoya unknown. @ point before 1893, , before 1891, students versed in classical languages combined greek hoia or hoya, meaning or such , , latin saxa form hoya saxa!, or rocks! cheer may either refer stalwart defense of football team, or baseball team, nicknamed stonewalls , or actual stone wall surrounds campus. father william mcfadden, s.j., campus jesuit , team s in-house announcer @ verizon center, has disputed greek , latin origin, suggesting classical words retroactively applied nonsensical cheer.

the name hoyas derives georgetown s college yell, hoya saxa.

after world war i, term hoya increasingly used on campus, including newspaper , school mascot. in 1920, students began publishing campus s first sports newspaper under name hoya, after petitioning dean of college use instead of proposed name, hilltopper. hilltoppers name used sports teams. fall of 1928, newspaper had taken referring sports teams hoyas. influenced popular half time show @ football games, mascot, dog nicknamed hoya, entertain fans.

georgetown s unique team name has caused opponents mock georgetown chants including s hoya? harrison high school, located in kennesaw, georgia, other institution in country licensed share name. however, georgetown preparatory school, separated university in 1927, uses name little hoyas sports teams , shares university s blue , gray color scheme.

mascot

georgetown s nickname hoyas, mascot jack bulldog. various breeds of dogs have been used sports teams mascots since 1900s. several notable bull terriers sergeant stubby , hoya used @ football games in 1920s, great dane in 1940s. however, in 1951, school suspended football program because of increasing cost of game financially , academically, left school without official live mascot.

in 1964, school permitted exhibition football games resume, , students financed purchase of young english bulldog named royal jacket, whom intended rename hoya , responded callname jack . breed chosen represent school because of tenacity. athletics department subsequently adopted logo drawing of bulldog sporting blue , gray freshman beanie. original jack retired in 1967, name carried on successors. in 1977, university began tradition of dressing student in blue , gray bulldog costume, replacing live bulldog, though several dogs periodically joined costumed mascot during 1980s , 1990s.

in 1999, scott r. pilarz, s.j., of hoya blue fan club, revived tradition of official live bulldog named jack, work along costumed mascot. when pilarz left university of scranton in 2003, taking jack him, georgetown secured new bulldog puppy , found jesuit, christopher steck, s.j., care him. current bulldog named john s. carroll, play on name of georgetown s founder, name allows continuation of jack bulldog nickname. after jack injured leg in 2012, 2 georgetown parents donated younger bulldog puppy, school refers jack jr.

colors

blue , gray official colors of georgetown university , athletic teams. colors important reminder of school s past. during american civil war, prussian blue commonly used in union uniforms, while cadet grey used in confederate uniforms. these colors introduced rowing team in 1876, deemed blue , gray appropriate colors [boat] club , expressive of feeling of unity between northern , southern boys of college. girls neighboring georgetown visitation sewed original uniforms team , presented boat club blue , gray banner reading ocior euro (swifter wind).

the basketball , lacrosse teams use gray primary color in home jerseys, blue in away jerseys. white used accent these colors, , main color in football , baseball teams away jerseys , soccer team s home jerseys. campus spirit groups encourage students bleed hoya blue, slogan used on teeshirts , bumper stickers sold fans. fans encouraged wear gray home games, , sellouts referred gray out. though various shades used, primary ones suggested school s identification policy pantone 409 , pantone 282, same shade oxford blue.

fight song

the georgetown fight song, known there goes old georgetown , amalgamation of 3 songs, oldest of which, 1913 s touchdown song , contains lyric here goes old georgetown . students combined version of touchdown song cheer victory , written in 1915, , hoya song , written in 1930, both of included in entirety. authors of these songs, , of combined version, unknown.

georgetown s fight song rare among u.s. university fight songs mentioning other colleges name. specifically, mentions yale university, harvard university, princeton university, college of holy cross, united states naval academy, , cornell university, rivals of georgetown in mid-20th century, , mocks fight songs. in recent years hoyas play cornell , holy cross regularly (in football), , many of these schools no longer use fight songs georgetown s song mocks.