Georgetown University Director of Athletics Joe Lang wants to win as much as any Hoyas fan. In an interview yesterday with campus newspapers, Lang, at times extremely emotional, conveyed his desire for every sport at Georgetown to be competitive.
“I coached for 20 years in intercollegiate athletics … I know exactly what it means to compete and I don’t like to lose,” said Lang intensely. “I didn’t like to lose when I was coaching and I don’t like to lose now, so I don’t know how people could ever suggest that I’m not competitive.”
Lang used the interview to clear up contextual issues from his comments in a recent article (“Just Like the Hoyas, Esherick’s Evolving; Young Team, Coach Still Have Ups and Downs,” The Washington Post, Jan. 20) that have sparked controversy on campus. Many students have taken particular offense to statements attributed to Lang, who said that making the NCAA Tournament every year for Georgetown’s men’s basketball team is ”’an unreasonable’ expectation.” Lang said that he was quoted accurately in the article, but said that he “chooses his words very carefully” and noted the difference between “expectation” and “goal.”
“Goals you go after and you set them,” said Lang. “If you do them and achieve them a lot people begin to assume that you will achieve the goal. It’s that assumption that makes it an expectation. To me there’s a difference between the two. We know that we have to go after our goals. We go after them and we do everything we can to make sure we achieve … We’ve had a lot of success which has raised expectations, but it hasn’t changed our goals and hasn’t changed the way we do what we do; we understand there can be raised expectations.”
To back up his claims, Lang provided a page from an official athletic department handbook that states, “The goal of each national sports [such as men’s basketball] is to reach post-season competition and compete for the NCAA Championship.” He said that that directive is followed “unequivocally.”
Lang has also been criticized for his lack of precision in detailing plans for an on-campus area for the men’s basketball team. Lang said that he could not be more precise because of the University’s situation regarding plans for its new performing arts center and due to the lack of space for facilities on campus.
“I need to lay out there that I want to have a facility,” said Lang. “I believe this is critical.”
However, in response to calls from fans for on-campus men’s basketball games and for the team to remain competitive with other teams in the Big East and across the country, Lang is trying to schedule the Commissioner of the Big East to visit Georgetown. The purpose of the visit would be to see if any short-term renovations can be done to McDonough Arena, which currently has a less than 2,500 capacity, to allow it to seat the minimum number of fans that the league requires to play conference games there. Such a change would increase Georgetown’s home court advantage.
“If there’s a way for us to get our team in this building, on this campus sooner rather than later, we will do whatever we can to accomplish that,” said Lang, hitting the table for emphasis. “I want you to understand there is that commitment to get that done.”
Lang maintained that it is critical for students, alumni and fans to endorse Georgetown Athletics and realize that he and the teams are doing everything possible to achieve all the goals that fans desire.
If, in response, fans show half of Lang’s emotion and competitiveness, then it is hard to imagine that his desire will not be realized.
