Sept. 15, 2006

Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University, a founding member of the BIG EAST Conference, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Hoya Basketball during the 2006-07 year. Activities that commemorate this rich tradition will begin this fall, and will continue throughout the upcoming men's basketball season.

During the year, fans will be able to visit the Georgetown Athletics website - www.guhoyas.com - to vote for an All-Century Anniversary team - taken from three eras of the past: the Vintage Era (1907-43), Classic Era (1943-72), and the Modern Era (1972-present). The ballot for the All-Century team will include the best players in Georgetown men's basketball history. The website will also feature stories on many of these top players, as well as highlights of some of the great games over the last 100 years.

On the weekend of February 9-10, 2007, Georgetown players, coaches, managers, fans and friends will gather for a memorable Gala Tribute following a noon game on Saturday, February 10 against Marquette University at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The game will be televised on ESPN. The 25-man All-Century team will be presented during the Gala weekend festivities.

From Maurice Joyce to Fred Fees ('19), from Tom O'Keefe ('50) to Jim Christy ('64) and from John Thompson, Jr. to Alonzo Mourning ('92) and now to John Thompson III, many great players and coaches have graced the hardwood for the Georgetown men's basketball program. Among the first universities to sponsor this indoor sport, Georgetown played its first intercollegiate contest against the University of Virginia on February 9, 1907. Today, the Hoyas are one of the storied names in the annals of college basketball, and were named one of the Top-25 programs in the nation by Street & Smith's in 2005.

Over the course of the past century, outstanding individual players and coaches on the Hilltop helped to produce some of the top teams in college basketball. The Hoyas won the 1984 NCAA Championship, advanced to the national championship game four times, have been to the NCAA Tournament 23 times, advanced to the Sweet 16 on ten occasions, and reached the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 10 times. In addition, Georgetown has won six BIG EAST Regular Season Championships and six BIG EAST Tournament titles.

Along with its NCAA tournament successes, men's basketball at Georgetown has built an enduring legacy that includes three coaches in the Basketball Hall of Fame, 18 All-Americans, 33 postseason appearances, 51 NBA players and selections, and over 1,400 intercollegiate wins.

Georgetown achieved success rapidly in men's basketball, winning the Southern Championship in only its second season of play. The school reached the apex of its Vintage Era with an appearance in the 1943 NCAA title game, coached by Basketball Hall of Famer Elmer Ripley. A de-emphasis of athletics on the Hilltop subsequently took its toll on Georgetown's national aspirations, as the team played in only two postseason games in a 26-year period. In 1972, a 31-year old high school coach named John Thompson was hired and the team began a rise to national prominence that culminated in an NCAA championship title and that continues to this day.