As you know by now, Georgetown has announced that the groundbreaking for the long-anticipated John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletics Center is set for September 12, 2014 with a completion date in the year 2016. The announcement of the groundbreaking was especially welcomed by those who have waited years for this important project to become a reality.
As you also know by now, there have been a couple of generous donations that made headlines this week by former Hoyas Patrick Ewing (a $3.3 million joint donation along with agent David Falk) and Jeff Green (a $1 million donation).
However, the job isn't done. We need to help get it done. Georgetown remains shy of its fundraising goals for the project and there's a boatload of cash that still needs to be raised to fully fund the construction of the Thompson Center.
OK, so what can we do about it? In a wave of emails sent this summer by the Athletics Department, the Alumni Foundation and even Coach Thompson trumpeting the groundbreaking date for the Thompson Center, Georgetown is urging alums to donate to the cause. As you know, this isn't anything new as the school sends emails asking for donations on a regular basis. But this is different, and now is when I'm asking you to do something about it.
Right now.
So what makes this effort different?
First and foremost, the completion of the Thompson Center is the single most important venture for the future success and sustainability of the Georgetown basketball program in the history of ever. That might sound like a lot of hyperbole (and it is), but it's also true. In order for Georgetown basketball to continue its esteemed legacy in this new landscape of college hoops, we need this thing built.
Second, and what I'm hopeful will strike a tone with you, is that The Casual Campaign isn't a plea from the Athletics Department. The Casual Campaign isn't a plea from the Hoya Hoop Club. The Casual Campaign isn't a random email from an alum you've never met. The Casual Campaign is ours. By clicking on THIS LINK which has been specially created by computer nerds, you will be taken to a page where you can make a donation for as little as $5, and all of whatever you contribute will be distinctly earmarked as Casual. As an added benefit, if you are already a member of the Hoya Hoop Club, this Casual Campaign donation will count as part of your annual HHC contribution. If you're not an HHC member, it doesn't matter. You can still donate.
Get It Done.
The Thompson Center is more than just a new venue for student-athletes. It's a symbol of strength for Georgetown. The impact of such a facility cannot be understated, not just for our current student-athletes to help them improve performance on the court, but for any recruits that visit the campus in the future. McDonough has tradition, but tradition alone isn't getting the top-ranked recruits to commit to Georgetown. Do you think top recruits enjoy having to step over other student-athletes as they stretch and meet in the hallway? How do you think that resonates when these recruits then visit other schools and are shown veritable basketball palaces oozing in state-of- the-art training areas and casual comfort? Our basketball program deserves this facility, and we need it now.
Over the years we have built a community here at Casual Hoya, and it has developed into a nice oasis for fans of Georgetown basketball to both rant and rave about the Hoyas program. There are fans that are pleased with the program. There are fans that are unhappy with the program. But at the end of the day, we are all Georgetown basketball fans. And as fans of Georgetown basketball, we all share the same goal: to have the Georgetown Hoyas basketball program among the nation's best each and every year. The John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletics Center will get us there.
Hoyas fans (and even non-Hoyas fans who may read this and realize that a new facility at Georgetown would be good for the future of the Big East as a whole), now is the time to join together and Get It Done.
Though most of our interaction is through the anonymous space of the internet, I've had the great misfortune of actually getting to know more than a few of you off the computer (note: this was the best ‘off the court' reference I could come up with). We've talked Hoya hoops together, we've documented our lunches together, we've had beers together. Now let's donate together.
It's time to Get It Done.
Hoya Saxa.