After 24 years, the George Washington-Georgetown rivalry is beginning to thaw. In the past few weeks, Several GW and Georgetown fans contacted me to express their agreement that the rivalry should be renewed. They also trash talked about each team's respective worth and said if the game were played, they would be there. While it was my belief that the all-student basketball game offered an attractive and unique marketing hook to overcome a long layoff between teams, I'm willing to endorse any GW-Georgetown game that takes place inside the nation's capital.

To that end, hoyasaxa.com, a popular Georgetown basketball website, ran an editorial linking to the ClayNation column and endorsing the return of the rivalry.

According to hoyasaxa.com, "But as next season marks the 100th anniversary of the series between the schools, here's another idea: Create a multi-year commitment that would open the college basketball season between the two old rivals each November. Split the MCI Center's seating down the middle and have each school sell one side of the building; or let the schools alternate the 'home' designation. If the game is on a weekend, bookend it with a women's game between the schools at the other school's campus arena. November's Navy game was well received by Georgetown fans and alumni as a step toward renewing old rivalries among area schools. Sixteen blocks and a quarter century of hard feelings is not too much to overcome."

Congrats to the folks behind hoyasaxa.com for being better at their math than I was; what better time to renew the rivalry than on the 100th anniversary of the initial meeting?

At the end of my Jan. 29 column, I vowed that I would pursue this game by taking my suggestion straight to the presidents of both schools. At GW, I found a receptive audience in president Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who was eager to discuss the rivalry's renewal with a fervor that belied the nearly 18 years he has spent leading GW. A voluble Trachtenberg spoke to us last Wednesday about the rivalry's potential impact on the city of Washington.

"I believe schools have a responsibility above and beyond things like the RPI and ratings to the community itself. For instance, D.C. councilman Jack Evans has proposed a Ward 2 Championship (GW and Georgetown are located within the ward) with the proceeds of the game being used as scholarship money for kids from the community to both schools. I think this would be a great idea. Washington fans would enjoy the game and it's definitely a net plus for the community."

Then, as if to prove what a great opportunity a renewed GW-Georgetown matchup would be, Trachtenberg took the opportunity to engage in what might only be described as good-natured rivalry trash talk. When asked whether he had been in favor of a GW-Georgetown game in the past, Trachtenberg said, "I've been trying to get something lined up for years. John Thompson, the father, always ran away from the game and now I suspect his son, John Thompson III, may be doing the same."

Trachtenberg went even further, laying down the rivalry gauntlet and channeling Muhammad Ali. "We'd play them any time any place. The Smith Center, the MCI Center, their own campus gym. Just name the place and make it fair."

He also brought home the essential truth of what makes city rivalry games so powerful for college basketball fans and what a winning team has brought to his own life. "There would be years where we'd be better and years where they'd be better. I just think it's a good idea for the community regardless of where the teams are ranking-wise," Trachtenberg said. "I have things to talk about with everyone; my barber, my taxi-cab drivers, I want to talk about the philosophy department, but all they want to talk about is GW basketball."

So with great pleasure, I can now announce that GW's president has wholeheartedly endorsed the rivalry's renewal.

I wish I could say the same for Georgetown's president, John DeGioia. I made multiple phone calls to the Georgetown campus and spoke with several people, including Communications Director Eric Smolson and Sports Information Director Bill Shaplin. Smolson and Shaplin were receptive, but neither were the big man himself, president DeGioia.

Ultimately, after several phone calls, all Smolson would say was, "We think this is a matter for the athletic department." Unfortunately, leaving this matchup entirely to the athletic departments of the respective schools is what brought about the death of the rivalry and what has yet to lead to a renewal of a game between these storied rivals.

So since I couldn't talk with Georgetown's president (or anyone within the school at all), I did the next best thing: I discussed the rivalry with Curtis Romig, the president-elect of the Georgetown Club of Georgia. Right now, I know some of you are downright shocked about the connections we have here at ClayNation. And I don't blame you if you had to go back and reread that last sentence. Yep, I was able to get the president-elect of the Georgetown Club of Georgia on the phone.

"I think it is a great idea to renew the Georgetown-GW rivalry. Obviously, if the Hoyas and Colonials had played this year with both teams ranked in the top 20, the game would have taken place on a national stage and the MCI Center would have been sold out. Since that will not happen unless the teams meet in the NCAA Tournament, we are left with the hope that the teams will agree to play each other next year and beyond. Hopefully, they will renew the rivalry," Romig said. "The history of the rivalry (the teams have played 93 times) and the rich basketball heritage of both schools make it a great idea. Georgetown has Thompson, Sleepy Floyd, Ewing, Williams, Wingate, Mourning, Mutombo, Iverson and Sweetney. GW has Yinka Dare and that short guy who was really good. Where is that short guy these days, anyway?"

Not content with the endorsement of a high-powered senior associate at a major Atlanta law firm, I dug further into my deck of connections and drew out none other than one of my old college roommates, Justin Pierce. Pierce has managed to bridge the Georgetown-GW divide by graduating from GW undergrad and currently attending Georgetown where he is working on his economics doctorate. I decided to utilize his mastery of economic principles to analyze the likely impact of a game between GW and Georgetown on Washington's economy.

Q: Justin, am I correct when I state that the marginal utility yield curve resembles a Nike swoosh? (For this knowledge I am indebted to my high school economics teacher. Just a tip for high school kids out there. Somehow, I got Advanced Placement credit in economics while only knowing this one fact.) Secondly, do you think this is a coincidence?

A: Yes, the Nike swoosh does in fact represent the principle of marginal utility. On the second part, no, that is definitely not a coincidence and Adam Smith certainly would have endorsed a GW-Georgetown game.

Q: Do you still have my suit that I accidentally left with you from senior year?

A: I did until one month ago when I donated it to a clothing drive when I moved. I'd had that suit for five years and I moved it through three apartments. Good riddance.

Q: Now I'm going to throw out an economic impact figure for the rivalry and we're going to play a game called 'Over/Under'. For example, you tell me whether you think the economic impact of the game would be over or under this number: $3.6 billion.

A: Are you talking about dollars? [Pause for deep reflection.] Under.

Now that we've economically proven that the GW-Georgetown game would bring in just under $3.6 billion in benefits, I don't understand how this game can't happen. As always, ClayNation's Georgetown-GW quest will continue. I'm hopeful that Georgetown president John DeGioia will be willing to talk to me at some point in the near future. All we need from him is an endorsement and this game is absolutely a go for the rivalry's 100th anniversary. I will continue to call and hopefully we here at ClayNation can help make this game a reality.