Hoya basketball is back, and spirit is running high just about everywhere on the Hilltop. But for the members of Hoya Blue, team spirit is a lifestyle, whether cheering on the team at home at MCI Center or in front of a television screen for an away game.

Steve Medlock (SFS ’06), the vice president of Hoya Blue, has helped the group gain recognition for its role in fostering school pride on the Hilltop and increasing fan support for Georgetown athletics. As March Madness approaches, Medlock says he is looking to find new ways to cheer on the Hoyas wherever this season takes them.

Did you have any connection to Georgetown sports before coming here?

Not really. I’m from Oklahoma and both of my parents are Oklahoma State alumni, so I grew up close to those teams. Growing up in a state where there are no real pro teams really made me appreciate college sports.

Recently Hoya Blue has been in some hot water for an e-mail sent out to students referring to West Virginia as the “Brokeback” Mountaineers. Did you think the joke was harmless or was it insensitive?

It was definitely insensitive and we’ve apologized for it. Something we’ve really tried to focus on this year is trying to create a great game atmosphere for all students. We are working with Bill McCoy, director of LGBTQ community resources, and GU Pride on our relationship. We’re even planning to hold a barbeque with GU Pride before a lacrosse game.

In the past few weeks Hoya Blue has been mentioned in articles in The Washington Post and The Washington Times and online. What does all the attention mean for you?

From our perspective, it just shows us that we’re doing a good job. We’re just happy if we can fulfill our mission to the student body – which is trying to promote Georgetown athletics and build a sense of community. I’m more happy if people just say the crowd at the game was great.

There’s a lot of debate when it comes to what sorts of cheers are appropriate at games. What is proper game decorum for a Hoya fan?

Well, we want the fans to show why they got into Georgetown and to have them be creative. Ninety-nine percent of the cheers that fans do are fine. When fans start to direct comments towards somebody’s religious, ethnic, sexual or cultural identity, that’s where there are problems. None of the players are getting paid and they still are just students. I think a lot of people lose sight of that.

What is Hoya Blue planning for March adness?

We’re meeting with the Athletic Department right now. We are trying to figure out how many tickets we can get and where the games will be played. No matter what, we’re going to try to get as many students there as we can. We’ll also try to show the games in as large a space as possible on campus. We’re actively working with the student activities department and the Athletic Department, but we won’t know where we will be playing until March 12th [when NCAA Tournament selections and seedings are announced].

What are your predictions for Georgetown’s basketball team in the Big East Tournament and then in the Big Dance?

I have a habit of not making predictions. In the Big East Tournament, a lot depends on whether we can get the fourth seed. In the NCAA’s, we don’t know who is going to be in the 64 teams yet. But we’re going to do well and we’re going to win a lot of respect from a lot of people. We’ll do much better than many people predicted at the beginning of the year.

What kinds of new things are you trying to do with Hoya Blue in the coming months?

Well, the main development is that we’re going to be holding open elections for Hoya Blue, and we hope everyone gets involved. We are also going to be planning road trips for men’s and women’s lacrosse. The opening game against aryland last week drew 3,000 fans and we’re hoping to build on that momentum. We’re also actively discussing things for basketball next year. We’re going to be playing Duke in Durham so we’re trying to get tickets for that one. A lot of our planning revolves around schedules, so it’s hard to plan things well in advance.

Hoya Blue’s president, Kurt Muhlbauer (COL ’07) designed the “We Are Georgetown” T-shirts that students wear to games. Why did you guys pick gray instead of blue?

They’re gray because there are so many schools we play in basketball that have blue as one of their school colors, and very few schools have gray. Kurt thought gray was a way of differentiating Georgetown and our athletic tradition from other schools.

If there was one thing about Georgetown sports you could change, what would it be?

I would like all sports to have fully endowed scholarships. While the basketball teams may have scholarships for all the players the NCAA allows, that’s not the case for other sports. If we can get scholarships for all our soccer players, volleyball players, etc., that would really help Georgetown athletics. Before we talk about building a new basketball arena on campus, we need to talk about giving scholarships to all teams.

– Interview by Michael Coleman