# What in the heck is a Hoya? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601 "2001-01-05T18:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![felix\_penfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@felix\_penfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/felix_penfold)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/1 "2001-01-05T18:21:05Z")
As in the Georgetown Hoyas. What in the heck is a Hoya? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/2 "2001-01-05T18:27:46Z")
Read about it here [http://www.guhoyas.com/local/whatis.html](http://www.guhoyas.com/local/whatis.html) ---
**Author:** ![felix\_penfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@felix\_penfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/felix_penfold)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/3 "2001-01-05T18:34:22Z")
Thanks Bob. Is that just about the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever read? “What rocks”? Still doesn’t explain why they chose a bulldog as their mascot. Maybe that’s else where on the site. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/4 "2001-01-05T18:46:24Z")
A Hoya is just like a Hokie, except they don’t eat Wahoos for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/5 "2001-01-05T18:57:09Z")
There’s also a boxer named Oscar who seems to be descended from the Hoyas. (Not that this has anything to do with anything.) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/6 "2001-01-05T19:07:04Z")
[Hoya](http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/dogs.htm) may help. I read it only a bit. Have at it. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/7 "2001-01-05T19:37:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by felix penfold \* > **Thanks Bob. Is that just about the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever read? “What rocks”?** On behalf of **Alphagene** , **magdalene** , **Gadarene** , and myself, allow me to present you with this fine middle finger, hand-painted blue and grey for your visual enlightenment. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/8 "2001-01-05T19:53:58Z")
This question came up earlier, and [this tiny thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=11389) even mentions the dog. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/9 "2001-01-05T20:19:40Z")
As long as people commenting on the silliness of the Georgetown team name and emblem aren’t from Stanford[sup]1[/sup] … NOW, whose middle fingers are being presented? I, of course, don’t have a degree from either fine institution - I just want to watch the fights. [sup]1[/sup] - the CARDINAL[sup]1.1[/sup], I mean REALLY. And what’s that got to do with a tree? [sup]1.1[/sup] - not to be confused with birds or religous leaders. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/10 "2001-01-05T20:45:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olentzero \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by felix penfold \* > > **Thanks Bob. Is that just about the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever read? “What rocks”?** > > On behalf of **Alphagene** , **magdalene** , **Gadarene** , and myself, allow me to present you with this fine middle finger, hand-painted blue and grey for your visual enlightenment. 😛 \*\* Don’t forget me, **Olentzero**!! And, to adopt the taunt of our pathetic foes, **felix** , your mother’s a Hoya! Sua ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/11 "2001-01-05T20:46:52Z")
So, here is how it goes. The teams were not nicknamed **Hoyas** until the late 20’s-30’s. There may or may not have been a _cheer_ involving the term “Hoya” . The dog mascots were probably nicknamed “Hoya” before the teams. My conclusions come from this > [@](#): > > Al Philip Kane (C’28, L’32, GL’34) remembers that the spectators cheered as loudly for Hoya as they did for the team. Kane also points out that it was at this time that the newspapers began to refer to the team as “the Hoyas,” rather than “Hilltoppers” or “the Blue and Gray.” Pending further research, it does appear that the team was named for the dog, who was in turn named for the traditional cheer. As this article was written by the University archivist, one could chose to give it more weight than the crap from [The Official Web Site of the Georgetown Hoyas Athletic Department](http://www.guhoyas.com/local/whatis.html) . ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/12 "2001-01-05T21:14:32Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* \*\* > [@](#): > > Don’t forget me, Olentzero!!\*\* Hell, **Sua** , I had no idea. What school?? ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/13 "2001-01-05T21:26:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olentzero \* > Hell, **Sua** , I had no idea. What school?? Arts and Crafts, class of '90. Und du? ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/14 "2001-01-05T21:36:55Z")
Langwidges an’ Lingwistix, '97. Ask **magdalene** , she can vouch for me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/15 "2001-01-05T22:10:36Z")
**Olentzero:** My outrage at the mocking of the mascot is purely contingent on whether or not I actually decide to attend the school. 😃 My undergrad mascots were the Blue Devils (no, not Central Connecticut) and the Red Raiders (no, not Texas Tech), so I may opt for a school with a bit more color…out of the ones I applied to, I suppose that leaves Harvard or Stanford. Hmm. (Oh, and the Stanford tree is a redwood, if that explains anything; though the issue is confused by their arena being called Maples.) ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/16 "2001-01-05T23:16:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olentzero \* > Langwidges an’ Lingwistix, '97. ::Sua pulls out his wallet:: How much you need? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/17 "2001-01-06T00:16:48Z")
> [@](#): > > On behalf of Alphagene, magdalene, Gadarene, and myself, allow me to present you with this fine middle finger, hand-painted blue and grey for your visual enlightenment. Add-in **Sua** , and 3 out of 5 Hoyas have a screen name that ends in _-ene_. Must be code. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2001, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/18 "2001-01-06T12:18:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* > \*\*::Sua pulls out his wallet:: How much you need? > \*\* I don’t, but I’ll take the contents anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/19 "2001-01-06T19:00:02Z")
A Hoya is a plant, a member of the milkweed family, Asclepiadaceae. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2001, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601/20 "2001-01-07T09:18:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > Add-in **Sua** , and 3 out of 5 Hoyas have a screen name that ends in _-ene_. Must be code. He’s found us out! Let’s fnord scarper, gang! Fnord. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-heck-is-a-hoya/48601.md?page=2)