The story of intercollegiate athletics at Georgetown is closely tied to the University as a whole: an academy of students, faculty, and researchers that has brought the school to national acclaim and international renown.
Its mission statement reads, in part, "Established in 1789 in the spirit of the new Republic, the University was founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding. We embody this principle in the diversity of our students, faculty and staff, our commitment to justice and the common good, our intellectual openness and our international character."
Below, some measures of distinction that make the Georgetown experience like none other.
Academic Excellence
Founded in 1789 as the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the United States, Georgetown is among the nation's elite universities, drawing students from all 50 states and over 110 foreign countries. An admissions-competitive university which accepts just 12 percent of applicants annually, its 6,800 undergraduate students study among 56 degree programs in four undergraduate schools. A student-faculty radio of 11:1 provides a rigorous, student-centered education, with a 94 percent graduation rate within five years of matriculation.
Athletics
There are 30 NCAA Division I teams at Georgetown, with nearly 750 participants each year. In addition to numerous national and conference championships earned through the years, the educational experience remains central to the intercollegiate structure. A total of 449 Georgetown student-athletes received all-academic honors by their respective conferences in 2020-21, including 51 members of the Georgetown football team.
Alumni
Football maintains one of the strongest affinity networks within the Georgetown University Alumni Association, which represents and supports over 200,000 alumni worldwide. Players have full access to numerous career, internship, and professional networking opportunities with its alumni, supporting coach Rob Sgarlata's message of "Four For 40" - a four year education at Georgetown provides a lifetime of connections.
Campus Life
Student-athletes have full access to a variety of resources and social programs on the campus, where almost 90 percent of the undergraduate population are in residence each year, excepting those studying abroad. Nearly all undergraduate courses are taught on the main campus, building an environment that students can live, learn, and grow together.
Cura Personalis
A Latin phrase meaning "care for the whole person", Cura Personalis is at the heart of the Georgetown athletic mission, stressing not just physical performance but mental health, wellness, nutrition, personal and spiritual development, and the leadership to make a difference in society. These programs develop those foundations in every student within the Jesuit ideals of "Men For Others": intellectually competent, physically fit, committed to justice, and open to growth.
Community In Diversity
As a university whose campus population reflects the demographics of the nation at large, Georgetown has made diversity and inclusion as a point of emphasis, seeking to provide greater opportunity, voice, and vision to the numerous ethnic, faith-based, and international traditions which its students, faculty, and coaches represent.
Cooper Athletics Leadership Program
Created in 2019, the Cooper Athletics Leadership Program supports interdisciplinary programs which provides leadership training and professional development to Georgetown student-athletes.
Programs include the Hoyas Lead initiative, required for all freshmen and sophomore student-athletes, and the Student-Athlete Leadership Institute, an advanced series of workshops available to upperclassmen focusing on leadership skills and peer education.
Entrepreneurship
The Washington DC area is home to a thriving entrepreneur community, and Georgetown students take advantage of numerous entrepreneurship and seed funding opportunities, including University-sponsored programs such as the Georgetown Startup Accelerator, Entrepreneurship Alliance, the Angel Investor Network, Georgetown Ventures, and GAMBLE (Georgetown Aspiring Minority Business Leaders & Entrepreneurs).
Coursework supporting entrepreneurship are available through the McDonough School of Business, but entrepreneurship programs are open to all interested students.
Financial Aid
Since 1978, Georgetown is one of a elite number of schools nationwide to offer need-blind admissions and full financial aid to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for all accepted applicants, providing over $160 million of support to undergraduates in 2020-21.
Football History
Georgetown has fielded football teams from the earliest days of college football, and its fight song, which dates to 1910, is a call to action against many of these ancient rivals. The Hoyas earned bids to the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl in the 1940's until the program was dropped for financial reasons in 1951, but was revived by a student-led initiative in 1964. Since 2001, Georgetown has competed in the FCS Patriot League and schedules comparable Ivy League programs as out of conference opponents.
Four Georgetown coaches and two players are members of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Gameday
The completion of Cooper Field in 2020 gives Georgetown players and fans the most modern football facility in the Patriot League, located in the heart of the campus. With a capacity of 3,750, the facility offers players full time locker rooms for football and field hockey, along with game day facilities for men's and women's lacrosse. A state of the art press box for coaches, media, and guests is available as well. Downstairs, fans will enjoy permanent facilities for concessions and rest rooms, features unavailable in previous on-campus fields.
Graduation Rates
In 2020, Georgetown football scored a 100 percent rating in the NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) formula - one of 13 Georgetown teams to reach this mark.
"Our graduation success rate is an indicator of our student-athletes commitment to excellence," said athletic director Lee Reed. "Our student-athletes have continued to be dedicated to both their athletic and academic pursuits and I am confident that this drive is what builds champions on the field and within their communities."
The Neighborhood
Founded in 1751, the adjacent Georgetown neighborhood is an exclusive residential district in northwest Washington, DC. The home to numerous political and civic leaders in Washington, it is not unusual for students to see a U.S. Senator walking across campus or even the President of the United States stopping for breakfast at a neighborhood restaurant. Known for its cobblestone streets and 19th century architecture, the area is a frequent destination for tourists to the city, and is home to 10 foreign embassies, including France, Sweden, and the Ukraine.
Professional Football Opportunities
In its heyday, Georgetown sent over 50 former players to the NFL. In recent years, former players have pursued free agent opportunities with the NFL as well as the emerging professional leagues in Europe. Other alumni look to coaching to continue their connection to the game in front-office positions with NFL clubs.
Sports Medicine
Opened in 2016, the Lorry Michel Sports Medicine Center provides support for Georgetown student-athletes with 12 full-time athletic trainers, four consulting team physicians, a physical therapist, sports dietitian, and a sports psychologist, located at the John R. Thompson Athletic Center. Additional resources are available through the Georgetown University Medical Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, both located on the campus.
Strength & Conditioning
Since its opening in 2016, the Thompson Athletic Center has provided Georgetown football with much-needed space for strength and conditioning. All student-athletes at Georgetown have access to a 10,000 square foot weight room, custom-made Sorinex lifting stations, cordless cardio equipment for rapid deployment, and 50 yards of turf for sprints. Additional facilities within the center include are an academic center, auditorium and team meeting facilities.
Washington, DC
No university provides the access to a national and world capital quite like Georgetown. "Be a part of the city that shapes the world, where business, policy and culture intersect," says the University's web site. "A truly international city, home to more than 170 embassies, you'll share in new experiences as you take in world-class restaurants, a vibrant music scene and historic landmarks. Through unparalleled opportunities to work, learn and serve, become a part of the very fabric that makes this city so breathtaking."
Its mission statement reads, in part, "Established in 1789 in the spirit of the new Republic, the University was founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding. We embody this principle in the diversity of our students, faculty and staff, our commitment to justice and the common good, our intellectual openness and our international character."
Below, some measures of distinction that make the Georgetown experience like none other.
Academic Excellence
Founded in 1789 as the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the United States, Georgetown is among the nation's elite universities, drawing students from all 50 states and over 110 foreign countries. An admissions-competitive university which accepts just 12 percent of applicants annually, its 6,800 undergraduate students study among 56 degree programs in four undergraduate schools. A student-faculty radio of 11:1 provides a rigorous, student-centered education, with a 94 percent graduation rate within five years of matriculation.
Athletics
There are 30 NCAA Division I teams at Georgetown, with nearly 750 participants each year. In addition to numerous national and conference championships earned through the years, the educational experience remains central to the intercollegiate structure. A total of 449 Georgetown student-athletes received all-academic honors by their respective conferences in 2020-21, including 51 members of the Georgetown football team.
Alumni
Football maintains one of the strongest affinity networks within the Georgetown University Alumni Association, which represents and supports over 200,000 alumni worldwide. Players have full access to numerous career, internship, and professional networking opportunities with its alumni, supporting coach Rob Sgarlata's message of "Four For 40" - a four year education at Georgetown provides a lifetime of connections.
Campus Life
Student-athletes have full access to a variety of resources and social programs on the campus, where almost 90 percent of the undergraduate population are in residence each year, excepting those studying abroad. Nearly all undergraduate courses are taught on the main campus, building an environment that students can live, learn, and grow together.
Cura Personalis
A Latin phrase meaning "care for the whole person", Cura Personalis is at the heart of the Georgetown athletic mission, stressing not just physical performance but mental health, wellness, nutrition, personal and spiritual development, and the leadership to make a difference in society. These programs develop those foundations in every student within the Jesuit ideals of "Men For Others": intellectually competent, physically fit, committed to justice, and open to growth.
Community In Diversity
As a university whose campus population reflects the demographics of the nation at large, Georgetown has made diversity and inclusion as a point of emphasis, seeking to provide greater opportunity, voice, and vision to the numerous ethnic, faith-based, and international traditions which its students, faculty, and coaches represent.
Cooper Athletics Leadership Program
Created in 2019, the Cooper Athletics Leadership Program supports interdisciplinary programs which provides leadership training and professional development to Georgetown student-athletes.
Programs include the Hoyas Lead initiative, required for all freshmen and sophomore student-athletes, and the Student-Athlete Leadership Institute, an advanced series of workshops available to upperclassmen focusing on leadership skills and peer education.
Entrepreneurship
The Washington DC area is home to a thriving entrepreneur community, and Georgetown students take advantage of numerous entrepreneurship and seed funding opportunities, including University-sponsored programs such as the Georgetown Startup Accelerator, Entrepreneurship Alliance, the Angel Investor Network, Georgetown Ventures, and GAMBLE (Georgetown Aspiring Minority Business Leaders & Entrepreneurs).
Coursework supporting entrepreneurship are available through the McDonough School of Business, but entrepreneurship programs are open to all interested students.
Financial Aid
Since 1978, Georgetown is one of a elite number of schools nationwide to offer need-blind admissions and full financial aid to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for all accepted applicants, providing over $160 million of support to undergraduates in 2020-21.
Football History
Georgetown has fielded football teams from the earliest days of college football, and its fight song, which dates to 1910, is a call to action against many of these ancient rivals. The Hoyas earned bids to the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl in the 1940's until the program was dropped for financial reasons in 1951, but was revived by a student-led initiative in 1964. Since 2001, Georgetown has competed in the FCS Patriot League and schedules comparable Ivy League programs as out of conference opponents.
Four Georgetown coaches and two players are members of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Gameday
The completion of Cooper Field in 2020 gives Georgetown players and fans the most modern football facility in the Patriot League, located in the heart of the campus. With a capacity of 3,750, the facility offers players full time locker rooms for football and field hockey, along with game day facilities for men's and women's lacrosse. A state of the art press box for coaches, media, and guests is available as well. Downstairs, fans will enjoy permanent facilities for concessions and rest rooms, features unavailable in previous on-campus fields.
Graduation Rates
In 2020, Georgetown football scored a 100 percent rating in the NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) formula - one of 13 Georgetown teams to reach this mark. "Our graduation success rate is an indicator of our student-athletes commitment to excellence," said athletic director Lee Reed. "Our student-athletes have continued to be dedicated to both their athletic and academic pursuits and I am confident that this drive is what builds champions on the field and within their communities."
The Neighborhood
Founded in 1751, the adjacent Georgetown neighborhood is an exclusive residential district in northwest Washington, DC. The home to numerous political and civic leaders in Washington, it is not unusual for students to see a U.S. Senator walking across campus or even the President of the United States stopping for breakfast at a neighborhood restaurant. Known for its cobblestone streets and 19th century architecture, the area is a frequent destination for tourists to the city, and is home to 10 foreign embassies, including France, Sweden, and the Ukraine.
Professional Football Opportunities
In its heyday, Georgetown sent over 50 former players to the NFL. In recent years, former players have pursued free agent opportunities with the NFL as well as the emerging professional leagues in Europe. Other alumni look to coaching to continue their connection to the game in front-office positions with NFL clubs.
Sports Medicine
Opened in 2016, the Lorry Michel Sports Medicine Center provides support for Georgetown student-athletes with 12 full-time athletic trainers, four consulting team physicians, a physical therapist, sports dietitian, and a sports psychologist, located at the John R. Thompson Athletic Center. Additional resources are available through the Georgetown University Medical Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, both located on the campus.
Strength & Conditioning
Since its opening in 2016, the Thompson Athletic Center has provided Georgetown football with much-needed space for strength and conditioning. All student-athletes at Georgetown have access to a 10,000 square foot weight room, custom-made Sorinex lifting stations, cordless cardio equipment for rapid deployment, and 50 yards of turf for sprints. Additional facilities within the center include are an academic center, auditorium and team meeting facilities.
Washington, DC
No university provides the access to a national and world capital quite like Georgetown. "Be a part of the city that shapes the world, where business, policy and culture intersect," says the University's web site. "A truly international city, home to more than 170 embassies, you'll share in new experiences as you take in world-class restaurants, a vibrant music scene and historic landmarks. Through unparalleled opportunities to work, learn and serve, become a part of the very fabric that makes this city so breathtaking."