By James Irwin
A pair of basketball games and the induction of eight former student-athletes and one national championship-winning team into the GW Athletic Hall of Fame will highlight Homecoming 2016, as members of the university community convene on the Foggy Bottom Campus this week.
Events begin Thursday with a bonfire on University Yard in celebration of George Washington’s 284th birthday later this month and will continue throughout the weekend. The gymnastics team hosts North Carolina, New Hampshire and William & Mary on Friday. The women’s basketball team faces Virginia Commonwealth at 3 p.m. Saturday. The university will host a brunch tailgate at 9:30 a.m. Sunday ahead of the men’s basketball team’s game against La Salle at noon.
The 1927 women’s rifle team, which won the National Intercollegiate rifle championship, headlines the largest hall of fame induction class in university history. That team, along with eight individuals, will be inducted into the GW Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday and will be honored Sunday at halftime of the GW/La Salle game.
Tickets for all athletics events are available online at GetGWTIx.com.
Homecoming events are part of a month-long celebration of George Washington taking place on campus and around the world. On Feb. 9, the university celebrated the 195th anniversary of the Act of Congress that created Columbian College with events at the Marvin Center that featured a copy of the university charter and a wax figure of George Washington on loan from Madame Tussauds.
On Monday, students will make a trip to Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, where George Washington President Steven Knapp will lead a short ceremony and place a wreath at Washington’s tomb. That night, Kathleen (Kata) Bartoloni-Tuazon, Ph.D. ’10, will deliver the university’s annual George Washington lecture at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum.