WASHINGTON – Highlighted by a speech from Georgetown Hall of Fame Inductee Steve Iorio (B'98), Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia hosted the Captains & Coaches Dinner at Riggs Library on Monday evening. The annual dinner brings together the team captains and head coaches for Georgetown's 29 intercollegiate sports.
"We cannot begin to express our gratitude to our coaches for the ways they enable each of our students to excel and flourish both on and off the field of play," said DeGioia. "In this same spirit, we recognize and celebrate this evening, the extraordinary contributions of our captains who lead their teams in invaluable ways."
The evening featured a speech from Iorio, a two-sport athlete on the Hilltop and a recent Georgetown Hall of Fame inductee. Iorio was a three-time all-conference selection and a three-time GU outstanding back honoree on the Hoya football team. He is the current all-time holder of three career records and three single-game records on the Hilltop. In lacrosse, he was a four-year letterwinner serving as team captain his season. The squad appeared in a pair of NCAA Tournaments, making a trip to the quarterfinals in 1998. A four-time Academic All-America honoree, and an NCAA post-graduate scholarship awardee, Iorio graduated cum laude in 1998 as Georgetown's most outstanding scholar-athlete.
"To all of the captains in the room, congratulations on your many achievements, you truly are the best of what this University has to offer," said Iorio. "If you're anything like I was, you really cherish the responsibility of wearing that captains C. It's extra responsibility on top of being a student-athlete and the normal rigors of every student here at the University, but it will serve you extremely well in the next chapter of your life."
He left the group with four lessons to take with them beyond the Hilltop.
"Keep competing, take some risks, celebrate the wins and keep leading," said Iorio. "The greatest gift that Georgetown gave me was my teammates who are now lifelong friends. I lean on them all the time to help me manage career stuff, personal stuff. They are always a phone call or a text away and those bonds will stay with you. As you move forward, embrace all of the passion and spirit, keep learning from the wins and losses and keep leading. The difference you make will impact you and other more than you can possibly imagine."
The night was an opportunity to recognize the leaders within the Department of Athletics as a group that goes all over the country and the world representing the University.
DeGioia quoted Pope Francis with his words on how sports plays a role in our daily lives, "Sport is a universal language that embraces all peoples and helps to overcome conflicts and unite people. Sport is also a source of joy and great emotion, and it's a school where virtues are forged for their human and social growth of individuals and communities."
