Hoya Saxa is the official cheer and "college yell" of Georgetown University and its athletics teams. The term hoya is an Ancient Greek word usually transliterated from οἵα as hoia from the word hoios (οἷος) meaning 'such' or 'what' as in 'what manner of,' and is used in certain biblical quotations. Saxa is Latin for 'rocks' or 'small stones.' It was used in the name of some Roman settlements, such as Saxa Rubra. Before 1900, students at Georgetown were required to study classical linguistics, and both words are in the neuter plural of their respective languages. The phrase together is generally translated into English as "what rocks!", though other translations have suggested "such rocks!" or "great rocks!" or even "what rocks?" as a question. It was also historically rendered as "Hoya, Hoya, Saxa!", a form that is used in "The Hoya Song" from 1930 which mocked the cheers of other universities, and was then included in the school fight song, "There Goes Old Georgetown".
The phrase "Hoya Saxa" is painted in large blue and gray letters at Georgetown's Canal Road entrance
The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Big East Conference, with the exception of the Division I FCS Patriot League in football and women's heavyweight rowing. The University also fields 5 non-NCAA varsity teams in men's heavyweight and lightweight rowing, women's lightweight rowing, women's squash, and sailing. In late 2012, Georgetown and six other Catholic, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the Big East for a new conference. The rowing and sailing teams also participate in east coast conferences. The men's basketball team is the school's most famous and most successful program, but Hoyas have achieved success in a wide range of sports.
The name "Hoyas" derives from Georgetown's college yell, Hoya Saxa.
Georgetown's baseball team is the oldest on campus, having been formed in 1870.
The men's basketball teams plays their home games at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C.
Georgetown football plays its home games on Cooper Field on their main campus