Military academy question

I hope I'm not totally messing up this explanation, but I'm going to take a shot at it since my dad went to Annapolis, my uncle went to Annapolis and another uncle went to Air Force -- and I'm in the media like all of you so I certainly understand the signing day wonders.

When it comes to Navy, Army and Air Force (I was a finalist at the Coast Guard Academy, so I went through some of it) the whole process is completely different. That's why you may see 70 guys say they are going to play football at Navy in one class, but you never hear from a couple of them again. Basically, the academy requires each appointment to "try out" for a sport. For instance, before I got fat as hell, I was a prep soccer player and I declared on my application that I would try out for soccer at Coast Guard. If you don't make the varsity, you are required to do intramurals. Sports are huge at the academies -- there is allotted, required intramural time each day so they can unwind from the rigors of the academy. This is usually when the varsities practice, too.

My father was a pretty successful varsity diver at Navy in the early 1970s under coach Bernie Wrightson (former Olympic gold medalist), for instance. He was highly recruited for the swimming and diving program, but of course he was there for academic reasons first and foremost.

Now, when it comes to a high profile sport like football -- let's face it, a player like Ricky Dobbs or Dee Dowis was definitely recruited to the academy to play sports and they will technically "tryout" but we all know they're going to make it. Trust me, the academies recruit players just like everybody else.

But as for the typical letter of intent signing process, they don't really go through it. Yes, they might do something ceremonial so they can sit with their teammates, but the real admission process and scholarship comes from the appointment process -- and a local congressman, senator, public official etc actually has to grant an appointment for their local kids. Now, I'm sure Navy is going to make sure the appointment process is sped up for an athlete on the level of Ricky Dobbs, so that's never going to be an issue. But for the average kid going to Navy, the appointment process can be make it or break it and it may go beyond February -- and yes, every athlete is on scholarship (they even receive a stipend to go there).

So, to sum up this long ass lack-of-explanation (sorry) -- I would almost say that when a player decides to go to Navy, Army or Air Force, it may be best to describe it as "has accepted an offer to play at Navy" and keep it at that. There may be a pretty little "letter of intent" that is put in front of them, again to make it look official on signing day, but it's probably not much more than a piece of paper. It's for show. The academies are waaaaaay bigger than simple athletics, they want good teams -- but they don't bow down to it like some places. Plus, athletes are not bound to "athletic scholarships", they are bound to "academic scholarships" that every single person in the Brigade is on, whether they are on the crew team, football team, debate team or the next aeronautical engineer who also happens to be awesome at intramural lacrosse.

Now, some things may have changed lately ... but the above is my understanding of academy signings.

 

Good for him. Still means nothing, as the kid doesn't know what he's talking about. Navy doesn't participate in Letters of Intent. Other academies are the same. The kids sign a useless piece of paper, much like Division III LOIs. Reporters need to do,some simple research before reporting this type of news.

http://www.navysports.com/compliance/navy-compliance.html

 

Mr. McLaughlin is spot-on. You have to wait for the kid to matriculate before you can announce that s/he will be "playing X at [service academy]." Academy SIDs and coaches won't talk to you on the record until matriculation.

(And if you don't know what matriculation means, look it up.)

 

This is the correct phraseology (and does not include The Citadel).

 

I used "accepted an appointment" when writing stories about athletes going to service academies.

 

And representatives/senators don't "appoint" students themselves to the academies, they will nominate a candidate for appointment to the respective academy.

 

A fine and accurate point, Wicked.

 

Wicked is correct in the way he/she worded it. But in print, I doubt we'd need to go beyond "accepted an appointment". But yes, it's a nomination process.

Somebody mentioned above about The Citadel, and I think VMI is the same. They don't have a "nomination/appointment" process, they're just private military institutions.

And the Coast Guard Academy? That was the one Govt military academy that had a slightly different nomination process. I didn't have to go through a local congressmen (or other pub official), there was more of a geographically based process where they took "X" number of kids from one region, etc. It seemed less political to me.

 

Not only that but the service academy football players are the only ones who actually get paid. The academies pay every student a monthly stipend. From one source:

"All cadets and midshipmen receive taxable pay at a rate of 35% of O1 under 2 years of service (which can be used to pay for textbooks and uniforms), free room and board, and pay no tuition or fees, with the exception of USMMA who receive pay only during their required 300+ days at sea during their 4 year studies."

 

They don't get paid for their athletic skills, they get paid for their off-field service, like a basketball player hired by a booster working in the bookstore would.

And for those who care, there are five federal service academies.

-- West Point.
-- Annapolis.
-- Air Force Academy.
-- Coast Guard Academy.
-- Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point on Long Island).

A number of states have other military-related institutions, e.g. The Citadel, VMI or one of the states with a maritime academy.

 

starfleet academy isn't included?

 

Not only that, neither is this: