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
The Hoyas returned to the Verizon Center for a win over Utah State in which Chris Wright finished with a game-high 21 points and four steals, and Georgetown improved to 8-0 for the second straight season. By the time they visited Temple five days later, the Hoyas had risen to No. 9 in the AP Poll, but behind a 30-point performance by junior guard Ramone Moore Temple upset Georgetown to give Owls head coach Fran Dunphy his 400th career victory and end the Hoyas′ winning streak despite 15 points by Jason Clark, 14 each by Austin Freeman and Julian Vaughn, and 10 by Chris Wright. Back at the Verizon Center, Georgetown had two easy wins, defeating first Appalachian State and then Loyola of Maryland. Jason Clark finished with 15 points and Austin Freeman with 14 against Appalachian States, while Nate Lubick and Hollis Thompson each scored 11 points and Chris Wright had 12 assists in the game. As two Georgetown students wearing biblical clothing and long false beards held up a "Free Moses" sign, freshman center Moses Ayegba – ruled ineligible for Georgetown's first nine games because he had received an airline ticket to the United States from his native Nigeria from a non-family member – made his collegiate debut in the Appalachian State game, scoring two points. Against Loyola six days later, Austin Freeman and Hollis Thompson each scored 14 points, Henry Sims contributed 12, and Chris Wright added 11.