Primary Sources
Note: Collections that are digitized or have an online collection guide (finding aid) are linked.
Archival Collections
Researchers should begin by searching the available finding aids in the University Archives through this link. Use the search box to enter any terms you want to search on. Finding aids usually include a description of the materials, date ranges, and references to people or subjects that are the primary focus of the collection. Some finding aids contain more detailed information than others and not all collections have finding aids. Due to the volume and variety of athletic records, researchers are strongly encouraged to contact a staff member in the University Archives to make sure all relevant records on a particular topic are located.
Ticket stub from Georgetown vs Maryland football game, 1934
Collections fall into these categories:
University Archives Reference Files: These files serve as a starting point for research on a given topic. They contain photocopies of things like news clippings, photographs, correspondence, and other materials to give you a broad overview of what is available in the Archives for that particular topic. Beginning with the reference files can help researchers narrow down their topic of study.
Administrative Records: The Archives contains limited records from the administrative athletic staff, including the Athletic Director. What exists mostly dates prior to 1970. Topics include general correspondence, budget statements, annual reports, facilities and maintenance, personnel, schedules, Athletic Association, awards, public relations, among others.
Sports Information Files: The Sports Information Office is the communications arm of Georgetown athletics. Materials include things like press releases, media guides, photographs, statistics, box scores, office files, among other items.
Individual Sports Files: The Archives has records for just about every current Georgetown athletic team and for many teams that no longer exist. These records vary by sport but typically include things like media guides, news clippings, schedules, game programs, box scores, press releases, season results, and statistics. A digital copy of a baseball score book from 1869-1873 can be found in Digital Georgetown.
Individual Sports Photographs: As with the sports files, photographs exist for virtually all current athletic teams as well as for sports that are no longer active on campus. The photographs also vary in type of content from sport to sport and include images like head shots of players and coaches, team pictures, action shots from games and other event photos like awards ceremonies or overseas trips. A handful of images are available online through Digital Georgetown. Other images can be seen in the exhibitions and blog posts detailed in the "Secondary Sources" section.
Women's Volleyball Team, 1972
Scrapbooks: A variety of scrapbooks kept by both Georgetown staff members as well as alumni are available. The scrapbooks include things like news clippings, photographs, programs, ticket stubs, among other things. Descriptions for many scrapbooks can be found via this link. Check with Archives staff for additional scrapbooks.
Athletic Recognition Dinner/Hall of Fame: This collection contains primarily event programs that detail the list of award winners or Hall of Fame inductees for a given year.
Athletic Association: These are the records of the student Athletic Association formed in 1875. Records in this collection cover the period from 1887-1978 and include items like the group's constitution, correspondence, clippings, and statements from University administrators that relate to athletics. By the early 20th century, though, the focus of this body expanded beyond athletics and ended up providing the foundation for Georgetown's student government known as "The Yard." The Athletic Association also produced ledgers containing meeting minutes, carbons of outgoing correspondence and accounts related to athletics in the Preparatory Division. Click this link for more information on the ledgers.
Posters: The Archives contains relatively few posters related to athletics, however, most of what exists are either announcements for upcoming events or team posters with printed schedules.
Memorabilia: The Archives contains various athletics memorabilia including some early fencing equipment, a partial football uniform from 1905, several footballs, a baseball mitt, soda bottles, and various pieces of ephemera. Click here for a more itemized list of some memorabilia. Click here for more information about the soda bottles.
Men's Basketball Commemorative Soda Bottles
Publications:
Georgetown College Journal: Georgetown's first student newspaper founded in 1872. This paper documents the early development of Georgetown athletics including creation of the student athletic association and organization of some of the first athletic teams. There is good coverage of teams, games, and season previews and recaps. The College Journal has been digitized from 1872-1920. Print copies, including those issues past 1920, are available in the University Archives.
The Hoya: One of Georgetown's current student newspapers which began publication in 1920. This paper contains a lot of information about everyday student life, events and University administrative decisions, among many other topics. Georgetown athletics are well documented throughout this paper. The University Archives has print copies from 1920-2022. It is also digitized from 1920-2000. More current digital issues can be found on The Hoya's own website.
The Georgetown Voice: One of Georgetown's current student newspapers founded in 1969. The Voice tends to feature more in-depth articles rather than covering the minutia of everyday campus life like The Hoya, however, Georgetown athletics are covered in the paper. Print copies are available in the University Archives (no digital copies yet), but digital copies of issues going back to January 2001 are available on The Voice's website.
Georgetown University Yearbook (Ye Domesday Booke): The content in the yearbooks varies a lot over the years but they are typically a good record of student life on, and sometimes off, campus. Georgetown athletics are documented in the yearbooks to varying degrees. Early yearbooks go into great detail about teams and seasons for the major sports. Later years may only document the team roster or season win-loss record. Some yearbooks only include images with no text. The yearbook has been digitized from 1901-2011. Print copies up to 2018 can be found in the University Archives.
Hoya Saxa: Georgetown athletics newsletter. Print copies available from 1981-2003.
Hoyas Unlimited: Georgetown athletics newsletter published by Hoyas Unlimited, a booster club for Georgetown athletics. Print copies available from 1970-1971, 1975-1976, 1979-1982, and 2006.
The Hoya Nation: Women's Basketball newsletter. Print copies available from 2007-2008 and 2010-2011.
Cover of "The Georgetown Voice" announcing the NCAA championship win by the Georgetown men's basketball team, 1984
Audio/Video Material:
Game Footage: The Archives houses game footage from a limited number of teams including Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Women's Lacrosse, Volleyball, Men's Soccer and Football. The footage exists in multiple formats, some of which cannot be accessed with the current equipment in the Library. Digital game footage of the football team from 2007-2010 is available in Digital Georgetown.
Audio: Press Conference from John Thompson's appointment as men's basketball head coach in 1972 is available in Digital Georgetown.
