Rivals and Friends : Utraque Unam

This story received some coverage at the time, but it was never fully recounted from a Georgetown perspective. At the end of June, 2010, a Syracuse temple presented its Citizen of the Year award to former Hoya basketball coach John Thompson, Jr.

On hand to introduce John was rival head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange . . .


This story received some coverage at the time, but it was never fully recounted from a Georgetown perspective. At the end of June, 2010, a Syracuse temple presented its Citizen of the Year award to former Hoya basketball coach John Thompson, Jr.

On hand to introduce John was rival head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange.

Prior to the dinner, Coach Thompson and local Hoya alum Denny Owen were interviewed by the local TV station. That interview can be found here: TV interview.

You can also hear Coach Thompson's dinner remarks by playing the embedded video below.

John Thompson, Temple Adath Yeshurun's 2010 Citizen of the Year

What was not chronicled in most accounts was the turnout of the Georgetown alumni at the dinner. A distinguished group of Hoyas was there to support Coach Thompson and to defend the honor of Georgetown. But, lest you think that the Georgetown-Syracuse connection begins and ends with basketball, you are only half-right.

You see, former hoopster Denny Owen '51 stands in the middle of a long line of star athletes who came to the Hilltop from Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. It started with Hoya basketball Hall of Famers, Fred Mesmer '30 and Ed Hargaden '35, and continued with the likes of footballer Ed Moses '65, runner Dave Dobrzynski '79 and more recently, the football Paulus brothers '03-'07 and baseballer Matt Harrigan '08.

A bad knee sidelined Denny during his playing days, but he has played a starring role ever since as an alumnus. He was one of the first in the nation to sign on as an alumni interviewer. As alumni club president and then as Hoya patriarch, Denny and a hardy group of Hoya alumni have, over the past fifty years, built the Georgetown Club of Central New York into a model organization for small but energized alumni groups. They are the only Georgetown alumni club in the nation who has established three named John Carroll Scholarships for needy students from their club region. A Knight of Malta, Denny went on to serve as national president of the Georgetown Alumni Association as well as a member of the University's board of directors. In alumni circles, he is a living legend.

Hoya alums who live in central New York -- Hoya-cusans, I call them -- are a breed apart. If you are a Hoya fan who lives between Albany and Buffalo, and have walked into the Carrier Dome wearing your blue and gray, you have had to learn the meaning of standing tall while unwelcome in your homeland. With roots in that region, I am more than familiar with what our Georgetown faithful endure each year living in the land of the Orange. Three years ago, I wrote about my experiences in this linked blog posting. As my Hoya brethren living among the Orange know so well, we stand as rivals and friends, utraque unam -- according to our University's motto -- both and one.

Hoya, Hoya Saxa!

Hoya, Hoya - Cusans!