McDonough Gymnasium


McDonough Gymnasium, sometimes referred to as McDonough Arena when hosting a sports or entertainment event and officially known as McDonough Memorial Gymnasium, is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It opened in 1951 and can hold 2,500 people.

Naming and construction

The building is named for Rev. Vincent J. McDonough, S.J., Georgetown's athletic director from 1916 to 1928. Legend has it that three days before his death on September 3, 1939, he was asked what he wanted for the 25th anniversary of his priesthood, to which he replied, "You give the boys a new gym and I'll be happy." Though he did not live to see it, ground was broken for construction of the new gymnasium on May 20, 1950, the cornerstone was laid on October 14, 1950, and the official ribbon-cutting and opening was held December 8, 1951. When it opened, McDonough Gymnasium′s capacity was 3,500 to 4,000 for basketball and 5,500 for general events. Its seating capacity for events has varied greatly over the years. Air conditioning was installed in the building in 1988.

Men's basketball

Georgetown Hoyas

Before McDonough opened, the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team had played its home games in an on-campus facility only from the 1914-15 season through the 1926-27 season, when the Hoyas played at Ryan Gymnasium. McDonoughs opening allowed the Georgetown mens team to move back on campus, and it was the home court of the Hoyas for 30 seasons, from 1951-52 through 1980-81. Play at McDonough began with a 57-50 loss to Fordham on December 7, 1951 - the day before McDonoughs official opening - but the team went on to post an 11-1 home record in McDonoughs inaugural season. The Hoyas had a.500 or better home record in 29 of their 30 seasons at McDonough.
McDonough hosted a semifinal game of the Division I men's basketball ECAC South Region Tournament, organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference, in both 1977 and 1978.
To accommodate its growing fan base, the mens basketball team moved to the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, beginning with the 1981-82 season, and early in the 1997-98 season it moved again to the MCI Center, a new downtown Washington, D.C. arena later renamed the Verizon Center and now known as Capital One Arena. However, McDonough remained the team's practice facility until 2016, and from 1981 to 2009 it on occasion hosted Georgetown preseason and regular-season games, generally against less-well-known opponents; Big East Conference rules did not permit Georgetown to host conference games there because of the gymnasiums small capacity, and no regular-season games against well-known opponents have been held at McDonough since Georgetown played there against No. 4 Missouri in February 1982 and Big East rival Providence in January 1984. The only exceptions have been games Georgetown hosted during appearances in the National Invitation Tournament ; under NIT rules, schools in the tournament were required to play games on campus or at campus-owned facilities, and so the Hoyas hosted 1993 and 2005 NIT games at McDonough. A scheduling conflict at the Verizon Center, which already had booked the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus on game day, forced Georgetown to host a 2014 NIT game at McDonough. McDonough also hosted a 2019 NIT game on an evening when Capital One Arena – as the Verizon Center had been renamed in August 2017 – was in use for a Washington Capitals National Hockey League game.

Kenner League

McDonough Gymnasium has hosted the James "Jabbo" Kenner League every summer since the league's founding in 1982 except in 2020, when the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation. The only National Collegiate Athletic Association-sponsored summer basketball league in Washington, D.C., the Kenner League operates independently of Georgetown University, and provides an NCAA-structured environment in which Washington, D.C.-area high school and college players gain experience. It also includes "senior" games between teams consisting of former Georgetown players, visiting National Basketball Association players, and legendary players from Washington, D.C.-area playgrounds.

Other uses

In addition to an occasional Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball game and each summer's Kenner League games, McDonough Gymnasium hosts Georgetown women's basketball and women's volleyball games.
Each year in mid-October, McDonough Gymnasium hosts Hoya Madness, a free event for Georgetown students and athletics donors which unofficially kicks off the upcoming college basketball season and introduces Georgetown's men's and women's basketball teams for that season. The event also includes performances by the Georgetown pep squad and band and by musical groups.
Many concerts have been held at McDonough Gymnasium, including shows by Count Basie, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, and The Who, and it was the site of one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower′s two inaugural balls in January 1953. During its history, the building has hosted a number of visiting foreign dignitaries, bishops, academics, and graduation ceremonies. On March 30, 2011, President Barack Obama gave a speech on U.S. energy security policy at McDonough Gymnasium.
Freshman convocation is hosted in McDonough Gymnasium at the beginning of each academic year.
When it opened in 1951, McDonough Gymnasium had a stage for theatrical performances and housed coaches′ offices, weight rooms, a squash court, and the university′s physical education and student health programs. In its early years, it also included dormitory rooms for students. Over the years, McDonough Gymnasium also has provided office space for the university's athletics administration offices and housed sports medicine and training room facilities,and varsity locker rooms. Until Yates Field House opened in 1979, McDonough Gymnasium was the only facility for intramural sports on the Georgetown campus.
A portrait of the building′s namesake, Rev. Vincent J. McDonough, hangs in McDonough Gymnasium's lobby, where dozens of Georgetown's national trophies and sports memorabilia are on display.

After opening of the Thompson Center

McDonough Gymnasium's aging practice and training facilities had long been considered overcrowded and obsolete when, on September 12, 2014, Georgetown held a groundbreaking ceremony for the four-story, 144,000-square-foot John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletics Center, whose northwest corner is adjacent to the southeast corner of McDonough. Construction of the new center began in November 2014. Officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 6, 2016, the Thompson Center serves all 29 of the university's varsity sports programs - providing them with locker rooms, practice courts, and other training facilities - and houses the offices of the men's and women's basketball programs.
The Thompson Center replaced McDonough as the university's primary athletic center, but McDonough Gymnasium remains in use. Physically connected to the Thompson Center, McDonough continues to house the administrative offices of the university's athletics department and the women's basketball and volleyball teams continue to play their home games there. McDonough Gymnasium continues to host various university and community special events and to serve as a venue in which Georgetown alumni, parents, and fans gather before and after Georgetown sporting events.