George Washington University Pennat

This pennant representing George Washington University is blue with tan (buff) lettering and the school seal. George Washington athletics started with the founding of a baseball team in the late 19th century. The school also fielded a football team from 1890 to 1966. However, George Washington’s hallmark sport is basketball which had its first team in 1906. The basketball team's modern court is one of the most unusual courts in college basketball. The court features prominent Washington, D.C. landmarks such as the Capital Building and the Washington Monument. Without question the most famous and influential Colonial athlete was Arnold "Red" Auerbach who played basketball for George Washington from 1937 to 1940. Auerbach would go on to be the head coach of the Boston Celtics in 1950, where he would win nine NBA championships including eight straight. Auerbach would also draft the league's first African American player, Chuck Cooper. Auerbach retired in 1966 but he remained a George Washington season ticket holder until his death in 2006. The newly renovated Smith Center has a banner and a reserved red seat to honor him.

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