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.
Cocky (mascot)
In 1992, the university decided to move Cocky from under the umbrella of Athletics/Public Relations to Student Affairs. From that point forward Cocky was to be portrayed by a series of students. JH left USC (after seven years/1378 appearances) and at the recommendation of SC Coach Emeritus Frank McGuire he became a mascot for Shinn Enterprises (Charlotte Hornets NBA, and the Charlotte Knights AAA International League Baseball). JH, as Homer the Dragon for the Charlotte Knights, performed with his predecessor from USC, John Routh as the Florida Marlin when the teams played each other in 1996. When Charlotte was not playing, he was hired by other teams to provide entertainment in stadiums across the nation. The National Baseball Congress in Wichita, Kansas hired him as entertainer for their World Series in 1995. In 1986 he became Mascot Director for the National Cheerleading Association (NCA). He founded the "National Mascot School" for NCA, wrote a curriculum and handbook and trained a staff who traveled the United States teaching "the art of Mascot" at High School and College summer camps.