The United States Naval Academy is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the second oldest of the five U.S. service academies and it educates midshipmen for service in the officer corps of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It is part of the Naval University System. The 338-acre (137 ha) campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles (53 km) east of Washington, D.C., and 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus, known colloquially as the Yard, is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum in Philadelphia that had served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.
Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is an open-air stadium located off the campus of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Opened in 1959, it serves as the home stadium of the Navy Midshipmen college football and lacrosse teams, and was the home of the Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse. The stadium is also the host of the Military Bowl.
Bill the Goat is the mascot of the United States Naval Academy. The mascot is a live goat and is also represented by a costumed midshipman. There is also a bronze statue of the goat, Navy Bill, in the north end zone of Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. This statue also plays a role in "Army Week" traditions.
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an FBS independent school in 2014, and became a single-sport member of the American Athletic Conference beginning in the 2015 season. The team is currently coached by Brian Newberry, who was promoted in 2022, following his stint as the Midshipmen defensive coordinator. Navy has 19 players and three coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame and won the college football national championship in 1926 according to the Boand and Houlgate poll systems. The 1910 team also was undefeated and unscored upon. The mascot is Bill the Goat.
The superintendent of the United States Naval Academy is its commanding officer. The position is a statutory office, and is roughly equivalent to the chancellor or president of an American civilian university. The officer appointed is, by tradition, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. However, this is not an official requirement for the position. To date, all superintendents have been naval officers. No Marine Corps officer has yet served as superintendent.
Jeffrey L. Fowler is a United States Navy vice admiral who served as the 60th Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy until his retirement in August 2010.
The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Utah Utes played on December 20, 2007, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Utah defeated Navy 35–32 in a game that came down to the final seconds. The third edition of the Poinsettia Bowl was the first of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season and the final game of the 2007 NCAA football season for both teams.
The Crab Bowl Classic is the name given to the Maryland–Navy football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry between the Maryland Terrapins football team of the University of Maryland and the Navy Midshipmen football team of the United States Naval Academy. The two institutions, located in close proximity in the state of Maryland, first met for a football game in 1905. Since then, the series has often been marked by controversy, with incidents by players and supporters occurring both on and off the field. The winner of the game is awarded the Crab Bowl trophy.
The 2010 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen, led by third-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo, played their home games at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Navy Midshipmen football team of the United States Naval Academy and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame. It was played annually from 1927 to 2019, which made it the longest uninterrupted intersectional rivalry in college football, the third-longest uninterrupted college football rivalry overall, as well as the second-longest never-interrupted rivalry in Division I college football (FBS). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 game was canceled, ending these lengthy streaks, even though both schools still played a fall season schedule in 2020.
The 1883 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 1883 college football season. The team was the third intercollegiate football squad to represent the United States Naval Academy, and the first time the school participated in consecutive seasons. The squad was captained by member Frank Hill. The team played just a single game, a 2 to 0 (2–0) shutout loss to Johns Hopkins, which was the school's first ever loss. The squad was the first to have the approval of the academy's staff, and is regarded as the first official game played by the Midshipmen. The season continued a seven-season, eight game rivalry between the Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins.
Worden Field is a large grass field located on the campus of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. First mentioned in 1890, the field served as the home stadium for the academy's Midshipmen football team from that year through 1923, replaced by Thompson Stadium in 1924. Since the early 1900s, the field has hosted all of the academy's various yearly parades and many of its drills. It has progressively grown smaller, due to the addition of buildings and roads within the academy.
The 1884 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 1884 college football season. The team was the fourth intercollegiate football squad to represent the United States Naval Academy, and was the final time the school played a single-game season. The squad was captained by rusher Jim Kittrell. The team's single game was a 9 to 6 (9–6) defeat of rival-school Johns Hopkins. The season continued a seven-season, eight game rivalry between the Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins. It was the final season that a Naval Academy team would go unbeaten and untied.
The 1885 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 1885 college football season. The team was the fourth intercollegiate football squad to represent the United States Naval Academy, and marked the first time that the school played a multiple-game season. The squad was captained by halfback Cornelius Billings. The year began with a blowout victory over St. John's College, but was followed by close losses to Johns Hopkins University and the Princeton Tigers reserves squad. The season continued a seven-season, eight game rivalry between the Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins, and began a ten-game, seven-year rivalry with St. John's.
The 1978 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach George Welsh.
The 1954 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1954 college football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Eddie Erdelatz, and they acquired the nickname "Team Named Desire" during the press conference following the 25–0 road shutout of Stanford, when Erdelatz said, "Every man on this team is full of desire."
The 1916 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy during the 1916 college football season. In their second season under head coach Jonas Ingram, the Midshipmen compiled a 6–3–1 record and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 199 to 76.
Malcolm Xiomar Perry is an officer in the United States Navy and a former American football wide receiver. He attended the United States Naval Academy, where he played college football for the Navy Midshipmen from 2016 to 2019.
