School Spirit

So what exactly is a Hoya? years ago, Georgetown's sports teams were known as Stonewalls. Back in those days, both Latin and Greek were required courses at Georgetown. And so it happened that one day, a Georgetown fan began shouting “Hoia Saxa,” a combination of Greek and Latin equating roughly to “What Rocks.” The slogan caught on. The spelling of Hoia was changed to aid pronunciation, and Georgetown's team nickname was later officially changed to the Hoyas. Ironically, asking “What's a Hoya?” is something like Abbott and Costello's “Who's on First?” routine; “Hoya” really does mean “what.”

Jack the Bulldog was adopted as the school's mascot many years later. Stubby, a Boston terrier and World War I hero, used to push footballs around the field as half-time entertainment at Georgetown's games. When stubby died, he was stuffed, donated to the Smithsonian, and replaced by Hoya I, another terrier. Hoya was in turn succeeded by Butch, a Great Dane. In 1962, Georgetown got its first “Jack the Bulldog.” The most recent Jack retired to Pennsylvania in May, 2003. Georgetown's fourth official Jack the Bulldog is now only a puppy.