New IAC all smoke and mirrors

James Bond has come to save the day!

Oh wait, it’s just the new Athletic Director Lee Reed, dressed up like a secret agent on the front cover of the newspaper, making a conspicuous phone call and pretending to save Georgetown basketball from the brink of conference collapse. 

His secret weapon?  Email propaganda, followed by a bold appearance on the front cover of the student newspaper. 

We’re not fooled, Mr. Reed.  Just a few days ago we found out that Syracuse and Pitt were leaving the Big East, and there was a deflated sense of worry on the Hilltop.  Now you’ve taken this opportunity to make your sales pitch about a new Intercollegiate Athletic Center (IAC), in attempt to assuage some of the negative feelings about the direction that our conference is heading. 

In fact, the email was quite hilarious.  The static transition from Big East roundtables to the IAC was evident to the casual reader.  Is this supposed to be some prophetic revelation that restores confidence in our program’s future?  At this moment of conference realignment, what we want to know is what the Athletic Department is doing to restore the health and posterity of our conference; what teams we are recruiting to the Big East; what we’re doing to prevent UConn from abandoning ship next; and what other conferences we are considering joining.  Save your talk of grand sport facility plans for later.  You’re not a car salesman.

What’s even worse, the IAC is not a new idea.  Talk about a new sports facility has been going on for the past decade.  According to the blog hoyasaxa.com, the exact description of the facility, which includes “coaches’ offices, locker rooms, meeting spaces, press boxes, viewing suites, training and weight room areas,” was copied from a press release in the year 2000.  Back then, it was called the “Multi-Sport Facility.”  The new Athletic Director, who was just hired in April, has merely changed the project’s name.  It’s not his idea, and it’s nothing new. 

Most of us realize that news of this “new” project is just a distraction.  However, the proposition does have some value, regardless of if it takes 10 years for us to break ground.  Georgetown desperately needs to improve its facilities.  Harbin Field, McDonough Gymnasium, and Kehoe are still far below the standard for Division I sports.  For a school whose basketball reputation is on par with UConn, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, our training facilities remind me more of a lousy D-III program than a national power.  Do we want to live up to our mantra of “Hoya Saxa?”  Because right now our athletic resources certainly don’t rock.

But is the IAC even the best way to spend our alumni’s money?  Consider this – from the gist of Reed’s public-relations savvy email, the IAC would serve only the student-athletes on campus, who make up 10% of the Georgetown student body.  What about the 90% of us who don’t participate in varsity sports?  Although it may sound selfish, wouldn’t it be better to invest in new complex that benefits all of the students on campus? 

One idea has been on my mind since I made my first trek to the Verizon Center last year.  Wouldn’t it be awesome to have our very own basketball arena right on the Hilltop?  Before you call me crazy, think about the possibilities.  Let’s knock down McDonough and the adjacent tennis courts.  Then – and here’s the hardest part – let’s buy a part of Foundry Valley Park, which borders the west side of our campus.  Although it would take some heavy bargaining and maneuvering through bureaucracy, this move could give Georgetown enough space to build a brand new field house that could host basketball home games, as well as new offices and practice areas.

Of course, there are some problems with this idea.  Parking could become an issue for fans who are not Georgetown students, as it’s much easier to take the subway to the Verizon Center than to our campus.  This is also a massive undertaking which would require millions of dollars, and years of planning and construction.

But hey, it’s just an idea.  And since it takes decades to plan a new IAC or “Multi-Sport Facility” or whatever you want to call it, I don’t think any idea is too far-fetched. 

Just remember – as exciting as these new plans may sound, don’t let emails distract you from the tenuous predicament that haunts Georgetown basketball.

This editorial was my reaction to http://www.thehoya.com/gu-unveils-plans-for-new-athletic-center-1.2603895