Georgetown Hoyas
The University admits that the precise origin of the term "Hoya" is unknown. At some point before 1893, and likely before 1891, students versed in classical languages combined the Greek "hoia" or "hoya", meaning "what" or "such", and the Latin "saxa" to form "Hoya Saxa!", or "What Rocks!" This cheer may either refer to the stalwart defense of the football team, or to the baseball team, which was nicknamed the "Stonewalls", or to the actual stone wall that surrounds the campus. Father William McFadden, S.J., campus Jesuit and the team's in-house announcer at the Capital One Arena, has disputed the Greek and Latin origin, suggesting the classical words were retroactively applied to a nonsensical cheer.
After World War I, 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". "Hilltoppers" was also a name sometimes used for the sports teams. By the fall of 1928, the newspaper had taken to referring to the sports teams as the Hoyas. This was influenced by a popular half time show at football games, where the mascot, a dog nicknamed "Hoya," would entertain fans.
2010–11 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
Although star center Greg Monroe had opted to forego his senior year of college and enter the 2010 National Basketball Association draft after the end of the previous season and reserve guard Stephan Stepka had transferred to James Madison, the Hoyas returned the rest of the core and reserve players of their 2009-10 team. Senior Julian Vaughn and sophomore Hollis Thompson at forward and seniors Austin Freeman and Chris Wright and sophomore Jason Clark at guard all returned as starters or major contributors off the bench. Sophomore Vee Sanford also returned as a reserve guard, sophomore Jerrelle Benimon as a reserve forward, and junior Henry Sims as a reserve center. Freshmen joining the Hoyas for the season included guard Markel Starks, who later would emerge as their point guard, forwards Nate Lubick and Aaron Bowen, and center Moses Ayegba. Freshman guard John Caprio also made the team as a walk-on. Ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press Poll to start the season, Georgetown hoped for another successful campaign in 2010-2011, and to return to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in six seasons. The Hoyas also hoped for a deeper run in the tournament, which they had exited in the first weekend of play in their last two appearances in 2008 and 2010.