Dikembe Mutombo (1966-2024)
Dikembe Mutombo (I'91, H'10), a Georgetown alumnus, NBA legend, and global humanitarian, died Monday from a malignant brain tumor at the age of 58."When you take the elevator to the top," he once said, "please don't forget to send it down, so that someone else can take it to the top." For the collegiate All American and eight-time NBA All-Star, that elevator took flight upon his arrival to Georgetown University in 1987.Additional Coverage
Atlanta Journal-Const. The Athletic BBC CBS CNN Casual Hoya Denver Post ESPN Fox Sports Georgetown.edu GUHoyas.com The Guardian Houston Chronicle The HOYA NBA.com NBC NY Post NY Times Phila. Inquirer Sports Illustrated USA Today Wash. Examiner Wash. Post WCAU-TV WTTG-TV Yahoo Sports Born Dikembe Mutombo Mplondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo on June 25, 1966, Mutombo was among a family of eight children in a middle-class section of Kinshasa, Zaire (now Congo). He attended the Jesuit-run Institut Boboto to receive his high school diploma, and joined his older brother Ilo on the Zairean junior national team in 1986. Mutombo's notoriety caught the attention of U.S. development officer Herman Henning, who forwarded a videotape to Georgetown on the 7-2 center. Mutombo arrived in Washington in 1987 fluent in nine languages, but the Scholastic Aptitude Test was foreign to Kinshasa and Mutombo sat his freshman season as a result. He spent his freshman year acclimating to speaking English and to university life. Athletically speaking, he was only an intramural player, joining with junior college transfer John Turner in what might have been the most imposing IM team in Georgetown history. Despite some campus notoriety, Mutombo was virtually unknown outside the Hilltop. A clerical error by Basketball Times listed the sophomore-to-be as only 5-10, and as word of Mutombo's size and agility spread through the Big East community, some opposing coaches were sure that John Thompson had pulled a fast one on the magazine's editors. Adding Mutombo came at a critical time for the Hoyas' recruiting efforts. Following Patrick Ewing's graduation in 1985, Georgetown had not secured a suitable replacement for its center position. 6-10 Grady Mateen was ineffective and quit the team late in his sophomore year, while 7-0 Ben Gillery was often played only a few minutes each game owing to his limited offensive skills. Mutombo's combination of height, attentiveness to defense, and solid fundamentals were a perfect fit, especially if highly prized recruit Alonzo Mourning chose to join him at Georgetown. Mourning signed with the Hoyas in the fall of 1987, and the era of the big man at Georgetown was back. (Contrary to some claims, Mutombo did not attend Georgetown as a pre-med. Mutombo was enrolled in the former School of Languages and Linguistics, and was the only SLL graduate to have played varsity basketball.) Mourning and Mutombo debuted in the Hoyas' 1988-89 season. Behind an otherwise veteran lineup, Mutombo was still a work in progress, averaging only 11 minutes a game to bring his skills up to speed in American basketball. Even in limited action, one could see the enormous potential. His shots, at close range, were largely unstoppable, and his 70.7% field goal shooting smashed a 22 year record for accuracy. Of the 23 games in which he scored in 1988-89, he didn't miss a shot in ten of them. While his overall scoring and rebounding totals proved modest (3.9 pts., 3.3 rebounds), his shot blocking skills were without peer. Mutombo collected 75 blocks in his freshman year, including a 12 block effort against St. John's that set an NCAA single game record. The key to Mutombo's shot-blocking prowess was as much mental as physical. Being 7-2 (with a size 22 shoe) helped, but Mutombo never learned the bad habits of many American college centers that would jump at a head fake or try to swat the ball into the third row. Mutombo was uncanny in waiting for the ball to be launched, then simply rising to deflect the ball down. Mutombo's development continued in 1989-90. He started 24 of 31 games, averaging 10.7 points and 10.5 rebounds. With an increase in time to 26 minutes a game, he continued to serve notice of his emerging skills: 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against North Carolina in the ACC-Big East Challenge series, 17 points and 15 rebounds against Pitt, 22 and 18 against Villanova. He averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds a game down the stretch, shooting 68% from the field. Despite the talent on the team, the Hoyas dropped three of its last five and exited in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Mutombo was named first team all-conference and few doubted that he was a rising star in college basketball. With Alonzo Mourning saddled with a foot injury through much of the 1990-91 season, Mutombo became the scoring leader for the Hoyas. Moving to plays beyond the dunk, his scoring percentages dipped to a mere 58% from the field, but he led the team with a 15.2 per game scoring average. In the season opener versus Hawaii-Loa, Mutombo claimed only the second recorded triple-double in Georgetown history: a remarkable 32 point, 21 rebound, 11 block effort. He scored a career high 34 points (13-16 from the floor, 8-8 from the line) against Jackson State; ironically, one of his quieter games was a six point, nine rebound game against Southern Indiana, which featured Dikembe's older brother Ilo. (For the record, Ilo had 14 points and 11 boards against his younger brother.) From December through mid-February of that season, Mutombo posted 16 straight games leading the team in rebounds. Mutombo's signature game was found in the 1991 Big East tournament. In a game that defies description, the Hoyas shot 25 percent from the field in the quarterfinal against Connecticut, but won by eleven, thanks to a 13 point, 27 rebound effort from Dikembe Mutombo. For the series, Mutombo scored 34 points and collected 44 rebounds. He was named all-conference and All America honorable mention selection in 1991, ending his career third all time in blocks, with an amazing mark of a block every six and a half minutes he was on the court. At season's end, Mutombo was ready for the next step. Following graduation in 1991, he was selected as the fourth pick in the 1991 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. "I like to sit back and listen to how people say how great some of these [draft picks] are now," Coach Thompson remarked after the draft, "because in a few years Dikembe's going to surpass them all." After 17 seasons in the NBA, Mutombo scored over 11,000 points, over 11,000 rebounds, and was second all time in blocked shots. But he remains a unique presence in the NBA, a player mature beyond his years who never gave into the materialism seen by some in pro sports. "I'm not going to buy 10 or 11 cars and wear gold, I just wasn't raised that way," Mutombo said at the time of his draft. "I've been reading the books they use to teach at Harvard Business School. I plan to put most of my money in the bank." But instead of banking the money, Mutombo has put it to much better use. His efforts on behalf of humanitarian causes in Africa and his singular determination to build a hospital for his hometown of Kinshasa has earned him recognition and respect the world over. "When Dikembe came to me with the idea about starting this hospital, I was stunned. I didn't know what to tell him," said Mutombo's cousin, Dr. Louis Kanda. " He told me that God was going to help him do this. He is an amazing young man to even think about doing something on this large a scale." Despite numerous challenges in building a hospital from scratch, the 300 bed hospital named in honor of Biamba Mutombo, his late mother, opened in 2006. Amidst a city of 6.7 million, the hospital was the first primary care facility built in Kinshasa in over 40 years. "He is such a hero [in the Congo] that everyone wants to exalt him," said one of Mutombo's former high school coaches in a 2001 Philadelphia Inquirer article. "Musicians invoke his name in songs because it makes everyone pay attention." In addition to raising money for the hospital, Mutombo was a leader in international development efforts against the spread of polio, AIDS, and malaria in Africa. Mutombo actually contracted malaria during an overseas trip and was sidelined for six weeks during the 2002-03 NBA season. "Malaria is treatable, only in Africa they don't treat it well," said Mutombo in a 2002 USA Today article that noted that 5,000 Africans die every day from the disease. "I learned a lot from the way I was treated in America; maybe I can take this knowledge back to my hospital in Africa." "Why [does] this young African want to do something that has never been done on the continent of Africa?'" said Mutombo in the Inquirer article cited above. "The question was [always] why, why, why, why, why? There was concern that I was going to try to run for office....President Mutombo? No, no, no. There has never been a politician in my family, and I am not going to try to be the first." In the years before the NBA and the international acclaim, the Georgetown media guide wrote this prophetic note of this graduating senior: "The story of Dikembe Mutombo is, however, much more than the story of a big basketball player who set records in college. It is the story of a young man who leaves the security of his home, family, country, and language in order to discover things about himself. In that process of that discovery, he touched the lives of thousands." A member of the Georgetown University Athletic Hall of Fame, Mutombo received an honorary degree from the University in 2010 and the Timothy S. Healy S.J. Award in 2015 for outstanding contributions to public service in support of humanitarian causes and advancements for the benefit of mankind. Later that year, he was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. On October 15, 2022, the NBA announced that Mutombo was diagnosed with glioblastoma. He made no public appearance or comment thereafter. Mutombo is survived by his wife Rose and seven children. (Content excerpted from the Georgetown Basketball History Project.) A Statement From Ryan MutomboA message from Ryan Mutombo (C'24) was posted on Instagram this morning.
Ed Cooley: "Building Relationships"
Head coach Ed Cooley was the guest of the Georgetown University Alumni Association this past, speaking at a luncheon to members of its Board of Governors and a number of regional club volunteers."Taking over a last place team and moving to success is about not rushing [but] doing things right and building relationships," Cooley said. "Think it was tough to be in the stands watching the team last year? Try coaching it!"Some additional comments by Cooley on his view for the program were posted on LinkedIn by Stephanie Ortbals-Tibbs, a Washington-based communications strategist who attended the event. This was Cooley's first visit to the Board of Governors, an elected group that meets three times annually to discuss strategic priorities for programs supporting more than 215,000 Georgetown alumni worldwide. RaMell Ross Film To Debut In November
When one's debut film is nominated or an Academy Award, what do you do for an encore? For alumnus and former Georgetown basketball guard RaMell Ross (C'05), he's adapted a Pulitzer Prize winning novel.The film, "Nickel Boys", is based on a 2019 novel by American novelist Colson Whitehead which explores student abuse at a reform school in 1960s Florida. The film, directed by Ross and starring Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, opened the 62nd New York Film Festival this past weekend."The historical drama, which received rave reviews out of Telluride in September, marks the Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker's narrative debut," wrote Variety. "'Emotional' might be a more apt descriptor of the screening experience," it continued. "The two-and-a-half-hour film follows two Black teenagers who become wards of a barbaric juvenile reformatory in Jim Crow era Florida. Herisse and Wilson play Elwood and Turner, whose close friendship helps sustain their hope even as the horrors mount around them at the Nickel Academy, which becomes a microcosm of American racism in the mid-20th century." "Colson's narrative power pulled me into it, as it pulled in every other reader," Ross told Yahoo.com. "I never have ever read a book thinking about an adaptation." "Working with RaMell is a joy," Enrisse said. "He is one of the most incredible human beings I've ever met. He is a genius, but he was so great at making us feel comfortable and letting us know that he trusted us. And I think the biggest thing that I learned is that when you have a vision like he had, move forward with confidence. If you move forward with confidence and you put trust in the people that you're working with, things are going to fall together like it did with this movie." The film will be in limited release November 8 and move to Amazon thereafter. Season Opener To Be Doubleheader
For the first time in 20 years, a rare women's/men's doubleheader opens the 2024-25 season on November 6.
2024-25 SCHEDULE
The women's basketball office announced its schedule Wednesday, with a season opening game at McDonough Gymnasium on November 6 versus Virginia University of Lynchburg (VUL), followed by the men's opener versus Lehigh. A game time has not been announced for either game pending men's TV rights clearance. The choice of opponent is an interesting one. Virginia University of Lynchburg, not to be confused with the Division III University of Lynchburg, has a full time enrollment of just 400 and is currently under accreditation probation. The Dragons are neither an NCAA nor NAIA affiliate, and as such, the game will not count for NCAA NET rankings and post season criteria for Georgetown and eight other Division I schools that VUL will face in the non-conference. The game was preemptively announced by VUL earlier this month, but its release has the wrong facility on the announcement:  The image is not of McDonough Gymnasium, but the 5,028 seat Allen Arena in Nashville, TN, where a Google search likely extracted it from a 2020 article at the Georgetown Basketball History Project on possible designs for a McDonough Gymnasium renovation. As to the last such doubleheader at Georgetown, it took place on Saturday, December 11, 2004, where a crowd of 2,154 saw the women's team defeat Lafayette 79-52 at a 2:00 pm start, followed by a 5:00 pm game where the men's team defeated San Jose State 58-40. Cooley Appears On Big East Podcast
In contrast to the build up to last season, basketball coach Ed Cooley has kept a low profile following Georgetown's 9-23 finish in 2023-24, and Wednesday's appearance on a Big East podcast is distinctive because it is comparatively rare.Cooley appeared on the Big East Rewind, hosted by former Big East veterans Chuck Everson (Villanova, 1982-86) and Sonny Spera (Syracuse, 1981-85). The 33 minute podcast offers some brief comments by Cooley specific to the 2024-25 team, available at the 29 minute mark of the broadcast."My expectation of this team is to continue to evolve," Cooley said. "I want to make a substantial jump but it's not going to happen overnight." He noted the growth of junior Jayden Epps and the skill of graduate transfer Micah Peavy but did not comment specifically on other players, adding that only three played on the team last season. "I think we're ahead of where we were a year ago today." When asked by Everson if he had given himself a timeline, as Everson put it, "to turn around the ship", Cooley did not. "I didn't give myself a timeline," Cooley said. "Year one, year two, year three, I don't know." "All I can tell you is that Georgetown's improving." Georgetown: #24
Georgetown University is ranked #24th in the annual US News college rankings, which was released Monday night. Georgetown was 22nd in last year's survey.The list, which was fairly static list over the years, are elevating more applied-sciences schools than in prior years. Big movers included Johns Hopkins (+4), Dartmouth (+3) and Carnegie Mellon (+3), while Penn (-4), Brown (-4) and Georgetown (-2) fell.For the first time, UCLA passed its parent school, UC-Berkeley, while UC-San Diego moved up to 29th nationally. Not far behind as challengers for the top tier: North Carolina, Southern California, Texas, and Florida. Georgetown has been ranked in the Top 25 every year since 1988. Here are the 2024-25 Top 25 Rankings:
Among Big East schools, Villanova (#58, up from #67 in 2023-24), Connecticut (#70, down from #58), and Marquette (#86, unchanged) are the only other Big East universities ranked nationally in the top 100. Other nationally classified schools include Creighton (#121, up from #124), St. John's (#152, up from #163), Seton Hall (#165, down from #151), and Xavier #209, down from #201). Providence and Butler are ranked in regional categories. Local schools included Maryland (#44, up from #46), George Washington (#63, up from #67), Howard (#86, up from #115), American (#91, up from #105), and George Mason (#109, down from #105). Kim English: Coaching AmnesiaIn the unrequited hate that seems popular at Providence College, head basketball coach Kim English got on Twitter Monday for some Georgetown trash talking, but it didn't hold up.The nonsense started when English cited Allen Iverson's "we're talking 'bout practice" in opening up the Friars' 2024-25 in-season practice regimen this week. When pressed on Iverson, he said he did not know Iverson even went to Georgetown until Iverson left the NBA in 2011. The snark soon followed.
 For a 36 year old multimillionaire like Kim English, it all seems a bit childish, and experienced coaches know better than to take cheap shots at those below them, because inevitably when they're on the way back up, he'll be on the way down. Realignment Never Ends
A wild day of news on the college realignment front, where as many as five schools were reported to be moving but only one actually did.While last month's musical chairs centered on the Big 12, this month's spin is the Pacific-12 conference, which contracted to two, then added four schools earlier this month in Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State. Eager to get to a more manageable 10 schools, news surfaced Monday morning that AAC schools Memphis, Tulane, and South Florida "are weighing an offer to join the Pac-12 Conference and will decide on Monday," as reported by veteran writer John Canzano.By mid-day, things changed. "Memphis, Tulane & USF are expected to soon announce a commitment to the AAC," per Yahoo Sports. "The schools determined that they will remain in the AAC, where commissioner Tim Pernetti is exploring [private equity], new distribution models & expansion." Also reported to be moving: Gonzaga, who, despite not sponsoring football, is seen as a good regional fit. However, a Gonzaga spokesman poured room-temperature water on the claim, saying that a move at this point was "not accurate reporting." One school that appeared to move towards a change was Utah State, per the Salt Lake Tribune. And for the first time in this whirlwind: a mention of Connecticut, however strange that sounds, per Yahoo Sports:. "Pac-12 leaders are mobilizing in pursuit of more expansion members after a group of American Athletic Conference schools decided to spurn the league's interest to join. The conference has already received a commitment from Utah State and sent to UNLV an offer to join the league, sources tell Yahoo Sports. Pac-12 leaders are mobilizing in pursuit of more expansion members after a group of American Athletic Conference schools decided to spurn the league's interest to join. The conference has already received a commitment from Utah State and sent to UNLV an offer to join the league, sources tell Yahoo Sports. Memphis To The Big East? Not Happening
Well, there's a new name in the discussion.Writes Dan Wolken at USA Today:Memphis, according to three people close to the discussions, had actually engaged the Big East last week to explore the possibility of joining in basketball and other sports while going to the Pac-12 in football only. But given the quick timeframe, concerns about fit from the Big East side and the lack of certainty about Pac-12 money, Memphis had little choice but to recommit to the AAC for now." Wayback: The 1981 Recruiting RankingsA weekend post from Twitter listed the top 50 recruits of the 1980-81 high school season. Georgetown had an amazing three of the top 10.
Asbury Park Press: Georgetown #10 in Big East Late last week, a Big East preview from veteran Big East writer Jerry Carino, picking the Hoyas 10th in the Big East pre-season.Jerry's Picks
2. Creighton 3. Marquette 4. St. John's 5. Xavier 6. Providence 7. Seton Hall 8. Villanova 9. Butler 10. Georgetown 11. DePaul Carino, a reporter for the Asbury Park Press, has been covering the Big East since 2003. His pre-season picks continue the current trend of previews placing Georgetown where it finished at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. In his preview of New Jersey teams, Carino notes that "Aside from Princeton as a strong favorite to win the Ivy League, there's not much crystal ball consensus for the 2024-25 campaign. Predictions about talented but youth-driven Rutgers, in particular, seem to be all over the map. It should make for a wild winter." Sydney Wilson (1990-2024) For the third time in just over a week, a member of the extended Georgetown athletics community has died, as former women's basketball center Sydney Wilson (C'13) was involved in an officer-involved shooting earlier this week at her home in Reston, VA.
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
On Monday, police arrived to perform a welfare check on Wilson, per a request from her health care provider. According to Fairfax County officials, Wilson slammed the door on the officer and returned two minutes later with a knife, slashing the officer three times in the face before the officer returned fire. Police chief Kevin Davis, who reviewed the body camera footage, told reporters the officer warned Wilson at least eight times to back up, but to no avail."Responding officers immediately rendered aid until Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department arrived," read a police statement. "Wilson was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The officer was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The officer involved in the shooting has been identified as a 14-year veteran assigned to the Reston Patrol District. As per department policy, the officer has been placed on restricted duty status, pending the outcome of the criminal and administrative investigation." Wilson, 33, a four year letterwinner from Silver Spring, MD, averaged 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds over 107 games at Georgetown, finishing third on the team in scoring as a team captain her senior season. At the time of her death, Wilson was a market operations manager with the real estate firm of Jones Lang LaSalle, according to her LinkedIn account.
Lorraine M. Michel (1953-2024) Lorry Michel, a member of the Georgetown basketball family for 47 years, died Tuesday at the age of 71, according to an online obituary.Michel had just graduated with an master's degree from Indiana State when he joined the Georgetown program in 1977 and in 1981 became the first woman ever named as a head trainer of a major college men's basketball program. Over the course of nearly five decades, she provided training support for hundreds of Georgetown basketball players and became a nationally recognized member of the training community, including two patents awarded her for an athletic nose guard (No. 5,012,527) and a foot support device (No. 4,550,721).In addition to her work at Georgetown, she taught as an guest lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse and served as an a trainer to U.S teams at the 1991 World University games and 1992 Summer Olympics. Michel underwent surgery for a brain tumor in 2011; following a long recovery, she was inducted into the Georgetown University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. Amidst the numerous players that had returned to offer their congratulations, one player was out of town but sent his regards on a cell phone video: Allen Iverson. "I love you, I miss you," he said. "Well-deserved congratulations. I love you. I can't put it in words how much I do love you." Iverson also took note to personally thank Michel at his Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony in 2016. At the completion of the Thompson Athletic Center, the athletic training room was named in her honor, a world removed from the spartan conditions she worked at within McDonough Gymnasium. In recent years, she served as an emeritus director at the facility.  Brian McGuire (C'72), a contemporary of Michel during his 39 years in the Department of Athletics from 1978 through 2017, shared his thoughts Wednesday night on Twitter.
Services are scheduled for October 1 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Centreville, MD. Photo Day In the world of Georgetown basketball, a published roster still remains offline to fans, but the basketball office has posted photos of its roster anyway.Photos of the 17 man roster, its largest since the 2000-01 season, are available through Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Four walk-ons join the full complement of 13 scholarship players, while last season's roster had 11 on scholarship and five walk-ons.By the appearances of the photos, Georgetown will remain with the Nike uniform style in use since the 2020-21 season, marking the longest stretch the Hoyas have not employed a jersey change since the 1960s. (In prior years, Nike replenished Georgetown jerseys regularly, some within as few as two seasons.) Lindy's Sports: Georgetown #10 in Big East Also from social media: the first look at the Lindy's Sports Annual, which picks the Hoyas 10th in the Big East pre-season.Lindy's Picks
2. Creighton 3. St. John's 4. Marquette 5. Xavier 6. Providence 7. Butler 8. Seton Hall 9. Villanova 10. Georgetown 11. DePaul The writer predicts an "up tick" for the Hoyas but not beyond 10th, but sees the third through ninth place finishes as wide open. Veteran reporter Adam Zagoria posted the screen shot.
Reed Appointed To NCAA Basketball Committee Georgetown University athletic director Lee Reed has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, per a release.Reed takes the place of Mark Jackson, who left Villanova this month to be the athletic director at Northwestern, and will serve on the committee through 2026."I look forward to representing the Big East Conference and Georgetown University as a member of this prestigious committee, which oversees one of the most exciting events in all of sports, Reed said. "I appreciate the opportunity to work alongside existing committee members and NCAA staff to elevate the championship and continue its legacy for years to come." Lee Reed has served as athletic director at Georgetown since 2010. He holds the third longest tenure of an athletic director at Georgetown behind Frank Rienzo (1972-1995) and Jack Hagerty (1948-1969) and the longest of any active Big East athletic director. 2024-25 Big East Schedules Big East schedules were released Thursday afternoon, with Georgetown's schedule noted to the left.Some observations:
Anthony J. Allen (1967-2024) Anthony Allen (C'90), a four year basketball letterman from 1986-87 through 1989-90, died in his sleep Wednesday, one day removed from his 57th birthday, according to a social media post from his family.The 22nd ranked recruit nationwide for the high school class of 1986, the 6-7 forward's career was interrupted by injuries but did not deter his contributions to Big East championship teams in 1987 and 1989 and a four year team record of 102-27 (.790). He started in 29 of 98 games over four years, including 14 games as a senior, and finished his college career shooting 50 percent from the floor and averaging 2.2 points per game.Anthony Allen played professionally in France and Australia after graduation, and began a long career as a campus police officer at Georgetown while completing graduate studies. He later served as an assistant pastor at a church in Prince Georges County, MD. Services are pending. Big East Schedules Coming Soon With eight weeks to the start of the 2024-25 season, the announcement of the Big East conference games and the start times for non-conference games are arriving as early as this week.Last season's schedule was announced on September 15, with the availability at pro arenas an additional complication at facilities such as Capital One Arena, Fiserv Forum, Prudential Center, and Madison Square Garden.Excepting the COVID-19 season, Georgetown has played St. John's at Madison Square Garden consecutively since the 1981-82 season, although the Redmen do not play all home games there: St. John's hosted two Big East home games last season on campus at 5,600 seat Carnesecca Arena and two at 17,255 seat UBS Arena in Elmont. The 2023-24 Georgetown Big East home slate consisted of three games on Tuesday (Creighton, Seton Hall, Butler), one on Wednesday (St. John's), one on Friday (Villanova), three Saturday games at noon (DePaul, Marquette, UConn), and a rare Saturday evening game (Xavier). An overlay of available dates against the 2024-25 published schedules of the Wizards, Capitals, and selected concerts at the arena offer the following open dates (gray indicates an prior event that evening, green indicates a scheduled event in the early afternoon):
Big 12 Halts UConn Search The on-again, off-again pursuit by the Big 12 of the University of Connecticut is off again.In a statement posted Thursday morning, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark stated: "As Commissioner, it is my responsibility to explore a variety of value-creating opportunities on behalf of the Big 12. Following detailed discussions [with] conference colleagues alongside UConn leadership, we have jointly decided to pause our conversations at this time. We will instead focus our attention and resources to ushering in this new era of college athletics."Previous reports indicated Yormark did not have broad based support among Big 12 presidents to pursue it further. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||