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Georgetown Football History: Homecoming Games

How have Homecoming traditions changed over the years?

As far back as 1925, the early Homecomings were elaborate off-campus events, owing to Georgetown games being held off campus at Griffith Stadium. Post game dances at the Mayflower or Wardman Park hotels were common.

For the early years of Homecoming, fans could count on the big game versus either West Virginia or Maryland--15 games between 1926 and 1941 were against one of these two opponents, with Georgetown usually getting the win. Games with the Terrapins were so popular among alumni that the weekends were routinely designated as "Homecoming" even if the Hoyas were playing in College Park that season.

In 1951, with the sport dropped that spring, plans were made for what the Ye Domesday Booke called the "Hoya Bowl" for intramural football, but the event was cancelled and the Homecoming tradition disappeared.

Georgetown's 1964 return to football debuted at a revived Homecoming game, and despite a budget of only $150, the student committee built a weekend unseen at Georgetown in a a generation: senior-alumni cocktail parties, a pep rally on Old North steps, a 20-float parade complete with a homecoming queen and her court, a varsity-alumni basketball game, a Saturday night dance at $4.00 per couple (the same price as the 1925 dance), and, of course, the game itself. Over 8,000 people attended the 1964 game, over 9,000 a year later.

Homecoming events were a place to see and be seen, none more so than the Georgetown students in 1966 who hitched a ride on the WMAL-AM traffic helicopter and proceeded to land at Kehoe Field just before game time. Two years later, according to The HOYA, the stunt was inexplicably topped by students landing at midfield in a D.C. police helicopter.

Homecoming was also popular in this era for the Friday night concert. Contemporary acts such as the Beach Boys, Rare Earth, and Ike and Tina Turner all played at GU the night before the game, but none were as memorable as the 1970 Homecoming, when the Grateful Dead drew as many as 6,000 inside McDonough's confines. Despite the event's popularity, funding declined in the 1970's to bring in major acts, and the concerts faded away by the mid-1970's, as did the traditional dance.

Facilities also played a role in the declined of Homecoming's importance over the years. The previous configuration of Kehoe Field allowed plenty of mingling room, but when the field was reconfigured upon its reconstruction atop the Yates Field House, the attendance overwhelmed the facility. According to The HOYA, some fans waited until halftime to be admitted to the 1979 game, and the crowd of 5,000 had no room atop Kehoe Field. To add insult to injury, the new Astroturf field had no landscaping around it, leading most of the grounds to be covered in mud.

Attendance continued to decline in the 1980's due to a number of factors. Students dismissed football's Division III status compared to Big East basketball, there was a run of poor weather, and some real mismatches on the field led many to discount the weekend in its entirety. In 1984 and 1985, for example, Georgetown lost its Homecoming games by scores of 42-0 and 56-0, respectively. Compounding the problem was an effort to refocus Homecoming on the more recent graduating classes and not to the older alumni community which had supported it from the 1960's. Alumni attendance disappeared and so did the students: by the arrival of MAAC football in the 1990's, attendance dipped to under 1,500 a game.

Efforts since then have tried to bring more students into the game, with some success. Last year's game and pre-game tent appeared to reverse this trend, and the arrival of an opponent like Howard should do more of the same.

Major College Era (13-8-2):
1. 11/07/25: Georgetown 40, Lehigh 0
2. 10/16/26: West Virginia 13, Georgetown 10
3. 10/22/27: Georgetown 25, West Virginia 0
4. 11/17/28: Georgetown 12, West Virginia 0
5. 11/16/29: Georgetown 0, West Virginia 0
6. 10/24/30: West Virginia 14, Georgetown 7
7. 11/14/31: Georgetown 13, West Virginia 0
8. 11/19/32: Georgetown 6, Bucknell 6
9. 11/25/33: West Virginia 14, Georgetown 12
10. 11/24/34: Maryland 6, Georgetown 0
11. 11/25/35: Maryland 12, Georgetown 6
12. 11/24/36: Georgetown 7, Maryland 6
13. 11/21/37: Maryland 12, Georgetown 2
14. 11/19/38: Georgetown 14, Maryland 7
15. 11/11/39: Georgetown 20, Maryland 0
16. 11/09/40: Georgetown 41, Maryland 0
17. 11/08/41: Georgetown 26, Maryland 0
18. 11/21/42: Georgetown 21, George Washington 0
No games, 1943 through 1945
19. 11/02/46: Georgetown 18, George Washington 6
20. 10/25/47: Georgetown 25, New York University 0
21. 10/23/48: Georgetown 35, Fordham 0
22. 11/05/49: Villanova 29, Georgetown 14
23. 10/14/50: Maryland 25, Georgetown 14
No games, 1951 through 1962

Club Era (4-2-0):
24. 11/23/63: Georgetown vs. Frostburg St., game cancelled
25. 11/21/64: Georgetown 28, New York University 6
26. 11/20/65: Fordham 34, Georgetown 28
27. 11/12/66: Georgetown 12, New York University 7
28. 11/18/67: Fordham 20, Georgetown 18
29. 11/02/68: Georgetown 38, Seton Hall 13
30. 11/01/69: Georgetown 44, Catholic 26

Division II/III Era (15-7-1):
31. 10/24/70: Georgetown 35, Manhattan 0
32. 11/06/71: Georgetown 30, Fordham 9
33. 10/14/72: Georgetown 29, Manhattan 18
34. 11/03/73: Fordham 13, Georgetown 0
35. 10/12/74: Georgetown 56, St. Peter's 13
36. 11/01/75: Georgetown 24, Fordham 0
37. 10/09/76: St. Peter's 13, Georgetown 0
38. 11/05/77: John Carroll 10, Georgetown 9
39. 11/04/78: Georgetown 49, St. Francis (Pa.) 0
40. 10/29/79: Georgetown 20, St. John's 14
41. 10/25/80: Georgetown 23, St. Peter's 6
42. 10/17/81: Georgetown 19, St. John's 16
43. 10/16/82: Georgetown 23, St. Peter's 19
44. 10/08/83: Georgetown 12, Fordham 6
45. 10/21/84: Johns Hopkins 42, Georgetown 0
46. 10/12/85: Fordham 56, Georgetown 0
47. 10/25/86: Georgetown 24, Johns Hopkins 17
48. 10/03/87: Georgetown 3, Franklin & Marshall 3
49. 10/22/88: Georgetown 17, Johns Hopkins 15
50. 10/24/89: Swarthmore 23, Georgetown 16
51. 10/20/90: Georgetown 17, Johns Hopkins 3
52. 10/05/91: Georgetown 31, Franklin & Marshall 15
53. 10/24/92: Johns Hopkins 17, Georgetown 0

Division I-AA Era (11-5-0):
54. 10/16/93: Franklin & Marshall 17, Georgetown 3
55. 10/24/94: Georgetown 17, Johns Hopkins 14
56. 10/14/95: Johns Hopkins 7, Georgetown 3
57. 10/12/96: Georgetown 20, Iona 0
58. 10/25/97: Georgetown 24, Duquesne 0
59. 09/19/98: Georgetown 13, Holy Cross 12
60. 10/16/99: Davidson 28, Georgetown 27
61. 09/23/00: Georgetown 57, Butler 56 (OT)
62. 10/06/01: Georgetown 15, Duquesne 13
63. 11/21/02: Georgetown 21, Fairfield 3
64. 10/11/03: Georgetown 49, Stony Brook 21
65. 10/09/04: Georgetown 21, VMI 0
66. 11/24/05: Georgetown 24, Fordham 21
67. 11/04/06: Georgetown 24, Marist 21
68. 09/29/07: Cornell 45, Georgetown 7
69. 10/11/08: Pennsylvania 27, Georgetown 7