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(Commentary)

Towards the end of last season I developed an idea as it relates to Georgetown football for next season. Now that it is the off-season, it is time for this idea to germinate and see if it can take root.

The idea was born out of discussions about poor attendance at the home games. Win-loss record notwithstanding, the per game average at Harbin Field for home games is not what Coach Benson had in mind for increasing school spirit and is clearly not what the university has in mind with constructing the Mutli-Sport facility.

There are a lot of anecdotal reasons for poor turnout but a lot of Georgetown students simply have no frame of reference about why attending a football game is part of their college experience. Kehoe Field and the opponents of the past do not provide any context. Alumni exposure is not much better. When I hear a local alumnus in my area go into the same old story every year about "We're so bad we play that deaf school", it makes me cringe.

I suspect that 95% of Georgetown students and alumni have never even seen a football game on another college campus, and until the Multi-Sport facility gets completed, they will have almost no exposure to the value of a college football game as a part of campus life. Out of sight, out of mind.

We have an opportunity to change that.

Next season, Georgetown Football makes its first appearance on an Ivy League campus in 66 years when it travels to Cornell. It also marks the 100th anniversary of Georgetown's first game against an Ivy league team.

While Cornell is a considerable distance from Georgetown (365 miles), the early fall in that region is everything which college football is about--falling leaves, cool temperatures, a collegial atmosphere surrounding the game. Cornell is among the most picturesque campuses in the Ivy League and could be an interesting destination that many students or alumni have never seen.

I would like to propose that the Gridiron Club, Hoyas Unlimited, and the Alumni Association work on a coordinated University-wide promotion, tentatively titled "Ivy Football Weekend", to bring together students and alumni from throughout the Northeast to travel to Ithaca for the game next October. I'm not talking about ten or fifteen folks, but hundreds. Maybe even more.

The mission statement for "Ivy Football Weekend" is as follows: "To engage the Georgetown community in a show of support, fellowship and school spirit, on behalf of the University and its football team, on the campus of an Ivy League institution."

Primary components would include:

1. Promote a student, parent, and fan bus trip from Washington to Ithaca, departing Friday evening and returning Saturday evening, owing to the fact that a seven hour bus trip is not practical in a single day
2. Develop a fundraising effort to send the band and cheerleaders to the game
3. Encourage local alumni clubs within four hours of Cornell (New York, Philadelphia, Albany, Syracuse, and Buffalo) to charter local transportation for their alumni to the game.
4. Organize a pre-game campus tour and tailgate hosted by the alumni club of central New York

Secondary components would include:

1. Investigating one and two-day travel plans, including on-campus lodging for students
2. Inviting faculty, Jesuits, alumni leaders, and administrators to make the trip to show support for the team and the school
3. Work with student groups (Chimes, GUSA, performing arts groups, service fraternities, etc.) to all get behind attending the event
4. Promoting the event throughout the spring and summer at GUHoyas.com, at reunion, and through alumni communications (web site, Georgetown Magazine, etc.)
5. Selling the event as a family-friendly weekend to promote school spirit and fellowship.

The overall goals of the event are:

1. Increasing student interest in Georgetown football through the shared experiences of a prominent opponent
2. Increasing general awareness in football among alumni and their families
3. Showing potential Ivy opponents that Georgetown can bring fans to games
4. Improving awareness and support for the commitment Georgetown seeks to make by scheduling peer institutions in football.

I was listening to a story last year from a GU athletic official that when the Hoyas made the 1970 NIT in basketball, they had over 50 buses departing from the McDonough parking lot with students and fans. Few of us could imagine it today. But if they never go, how will they ever know?

Comments, suggestions, and thoughts welcome. Let's get a few people intersted in getting out the word and enjoying some college football this fall.