| Georgetown Hoyas football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1874; 151 years ago (1874)[a] | ||
| Athletic director | Lee Reed | ||
| Head coach | Rob Sgarlata 11th season, 35–74 (.321) | ||
| Stadium | Cooper Field (capacity: 4,418) | ||
| Year built | 2005 | ||
| Location | Washington, D.C. | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Patriot League | ||
| All-time record | 506–416–32 (.547) | ||
| Bowl record | 0–2 (.000) | ||
| Conference titles | |||
| 6 | |||
| Consensus All-Americans | 18 | ||
| Rivalries | Catholic University (rivalry) | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Blue and gray[1] | ||
| Fight song | There Goes Old Georgetown | ||
| Mascot | Jack the Bulldog | ||
| Website | GUHoyas.com | ||
TheGeorgetown Hoyas football team representsGeorgetown University in theDivision I Football Championship Subdivision level ofcollege football. Like other sports teams from Georgetown, the team is namedthe Hoyas, which derives from the chant,Hoya Saxa. They play their home games atCooper Field on the Georgetown University campus inWashington, D.C. Their best season in the recent era was produced in 2011 when the team produced an 8–3 record.
The first football team at Georgetown was formed on November 1, 1874. There were results recorded in the 1881, 1883 and 1884 seasons, but since 1950 Georgetown has only recognized seasons starting with 1887.[2] By the 1940s, Georgetown played in theOrange Bowl, where they lost 14–7 toMississippi State in 1941.
As the college game became more expensive after World War II, Georgetown's program began to lose money rapidly.[3] The Hoyas' last successful season was 1949, when they lost in theSun Bowl againstTexas Western.[3]
After a 2–7 season in 1950, Georgetown attempted to salvage its program by softening its schedule, replacing major opponents such as Penn State, Miami, and Tulsa with Richmond, Bucknell, and Lehigh.[3] The program was losing too much money, however, and on March 22, 1951, the university's president canceled the football program.[3][4]
In 1962, Georgetown allowed its students to start a football program as an exhibition-only club sport. New games began in 1964, with their first match drawing 8,000 spectators to see the Hoyas host another university with an unofficial program,New York University (NYU).[5] Varsity football resumed in 1970 at what later became known as theDivision III level. In 1976, Georgetown began an annual rivalry game with theCatholic University Cardinals for theSteven Dean Memorial Trophy. The competition ended in 1993, when Georgetown moved into the Division I Football Championship Subdivision because of NCAA legislation forbidding Division I or II schools from playing football in lower divisions.[citation needed]
In 1993, the team joined theMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference, a mostly Catholic conference on the East Coast. With eight wins, the team won the conference championship outright in 1997, and were co-champions in 1998 with nine wins.
In 2001 the team joined thePatriot League, with the lowest football budget in the league. In 2012, the Patriot League transitioned to 60 full scholarships but Georgetown remained non-scholarship, further hurting its competitiveness in that conference. The Hoyas have posted just one winning season since 2000, an 8–3 record in 2011, just prior to the Patriot League's decision to add scholarships. Head coach Kevin Kelly was named the conference Coach of the Year.[6]
Georgetown has played football at various on-campus intramural fields. From 1891 until 1893, the stadium known asBoundary Field played host to Georgetown football. From 1921 until 1950,Griffith Stadium played host to Georgetown football.
Currently, the Hoyas play atCooper Field, previously called Multi-Sport Field, which was upgraded from Harbin Field in 2003. Construction on Cooper Field was sidelined for 15 years until it was completed in 2020. The facility opened in the fall of 2021 with capacity for 4,418.
The Hoyas had a brief cross-town rivalry withHoward University for a title known as the DC Mayor's Cup (awarded by the mayor of Washington). Three games were held (2008, 2009 and 2011).[7] The series has Georgetown leading 2–1–0 following their 2011 victory. The series was slated to resume in 2019 but Howard discontinued the series to sign a series instead withMaryland.[8]
The Hoyas have won six conference championships, highlighted by a run of four conference championships in seven years, although Georgetown went 78 years without a conference championship, in part due to not being part of a conference from 1921 to 1993.
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Frank Gargan | 8–1 | 5–0 |
| 1915† | South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Albert Exendine | 7–2 | 2–0 |
| 1917 | South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Albert Exendine | 7–1 | 2–0 |
| 1919 | South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Albert Exendine | 7–3 | 2–0 |
| 1997 | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | Bob Benson | 8–3 | 7–0 |
| 1998† | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | Bob Benson | 9–2 | 6–1 |
† denotes co-championship.
Georgetown competed in two majorbowl games, including a New Year's Day bowl game.
| Bowl | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Bowl | January 1, 1941 | Mississippi State | L 7–14 |
| Sun Bowl | January 1, 1950 | Texas Western | L 20–33 |
Georgetown was ranked in the AP Poll while a member of the Major College Division.
| Season | Poll(s) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | AP Poll | 13 |
Perhaps the football team's most accomplished athlete wasAl Blozis, who played for the NFL'sNew York Giants before being killed in action inWorld War II. Blozis's great athletic accomplishments, however, came inshot put anddiscus. He set the world indoor record for the shot put, throwing it 56 feet 4.5 inches in 1941. He was the national indoor and outdoor shot put champion in both 1942 and 1943.[9]
"Big Jim" Ricca, an NFLdefensive end andoffensive lineman, graduated in 1949 and was the last Hoya to play in an NFL game.[9]
Jim Schwartz, former head coach of the NFL's Detroit Lions, was a four-year letterman at linebacker. He received Distinguished Economics Graduate honors and earned numerous honors in 1988, including Division III CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-America, All-America, and team captain.
In 2007, theWashington Redskins madeAlex Buzbee a reserve player, becoming the first Georgetown player on an NFL team since Ricca retired in 1956.[10] In 2010, Buzbee joined theToronto Argonauts of theCanadian Football League.
Comedian and actorJim Gaffigan was a wide receiver at Georgetown in 1985[11] after briefly playing atPurdue.[12]
Nick Alfieri, former Hoyas linebacker who had over 300 tackles in his Georgetown career, played professionally in theGerman Football League for several seasons.
Announced schedules as of February 17, 2025.[13]
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| atDavidson | Brown | atBrown | atVMI | VMI | ||
| Wagner | ||||||
| atBrown | ||||||
| atColumbia | ||||||
| Morgan State |
