The spirit of change was apparently contagious when Georgetown athletics entered the New Year, as the first headlines of 2006 brought news of three coaching changes.

Head Football Coach Bob Benson, whose 13-year tenure ended less successfully than it began, resigned and was replaced three weeks later by Kevin Kelly, a coach at Navy who called the hiring “the script that I hoped would come true.”

Head Coach Li Liu had left the volleyball program at the end of the Fall semester after seven years and a 2005 season of six wins and 22 losses.

Head Coach Rich Bausch resigned after 26 years with Georgetown tennis.

Much of the remaining news in Georgetown sports was of the men’s basketball team, which opened the calendar year with a win in its Big East opener against Providence. Three days later, the Hoyas put on an impressive show against St. John’s at adison Square Garden, besting the Red Storm by 14 points behind 24 (including six three-pointers) from fifth-year swingman Darrel Owens.

The big story, of course, was the Hoyas’ defeat of Duke on Jan. 21, a fitting remedy for their painful 74-67 loss to No. 4 Connecticut a week before. On Jan. 24 the Hoyas found themselves in another thriller: a double-overtime win over Big East opponent Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

On the same day of the men’s triumph over Duke, the Hoya women’s basketball players almost pulled off a miracle of their own. They climbed from a 17-point deficit with 10 minutes left to a near upset of No. 24 Notre Dame; despite three opportunities to complete the comeback, the final score was 54-52, Fighting Irish.