Georgetown University Hoyas

This week I am reviewing what is really important about the Final Four to me: Logos, Jerseys, Mascots and Cheerleaders. On Monday I did the Ohio State Buckeyes. Today, their opponent, the Georgetown Hoyas.

Logo: First of all, you may ask yourself, what the heck is a Hoya. Lucky for you there is a section on the Georgetown website devoted to such a question. The official word on where the nickname Hoya came from a student who a started the "Hoya Saxa" cheer using a combination of greek and latin terms that roughly translated to "What Rocks!" Somehow it caught on and in 1928 sportswriters began referring to Georgetown's football team as the Hoyas.

So what does a bulldog have to do with the Hoyas? Nothing. The bulldog comes from Jack the Bulldog, the school's mascot. In the early 60's Jack became the visual representation of the school and the bulldog logo has evolved into what you see today.

It's a great design that you rarely see anymore. It's fierce and tough without being calculated and fake and it's one of my favorite logos in all of college athletics. Also, the cap that the bulldog is wearing is the same cap that students once wore during their freshman year at GU. Nice touch.

Jerseys: For the first 50 years of their existence, the Georgetown jerseys barely changed at all. In 1982 they started tweaking things and by the mid-90's the tweaking had gone crazy, thanks to Nike. In 1994, during the Iverson years, the Hoya jerseys hit a low featuring what the Georgetown Jersey History page describes as "a jersey trim resembling kente cloth". To me it looked like Zubaz had invaded college basketball.

Thank goodness they finally came to their senses in 2005. The current jerseys still suffer from the randomness of Nike designs with chunks of color placed in odd places, but at least the design is back to the basic navy and gray and comes closer to the traditional Georgetown jerseys.

Mascot: Two great things about Jack the Bulldog:

1. The human version of the mascot doesn't wear anything but a hat. Personally, I don't see the need to throw a mascot in say...a rugby shirt and sweatpants .

2. The real thing is the real thing. Who doesn't love a bulldog?

Cheerleaders: The Georgetown cheerleaders are a pretty normal group of cheerleaders complete with pompoms and the requisite amount of lifts and aerials, but they are also kind of dull and I couldn't find a decent photo of them anywhere.

But then I found the 2005-2006 Hoya Dance Team photo album and boy do these girls know how to party! Natty Light for everybody! In reality these pictures are pretty tame, but some of them are still good and embarrassing. Like this one, this one, this one, this one, this is a really good one, this one, this one, and finally, this one. To see them all, click here.

Overall: Georgetown has one of my favorite college logos, has gone back to more traditional jerseys, has a sweet bulldog for their mascot and has a dance team willing to post embarrassing photos of themselves online. How can you argue with that?

Team: Georgetown University Hoyas
Conference: Big East
Location: Washington, DC
Arena: The Verizon Center and the super cool McDonough Gymnasium