4/16/2004 - Football
Navy Football Team To Visit The White House On Monday

ANNAPOLIS, Md.-The 2003 Navy football team will visit the White House Monday, April 19 and will be honored by President George W. Bush for winning the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy for the first time since 1981.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to bring our football team to the White House and represent the Naval Academy," said Navy head football coach Paul Johnson. "This team accomplished most of their goals and one of the biggest was to winner the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and go to the White House."

The Mids, with victories over Air Force (28-25) and Army (34-6), won the CIC for the first time since 1981 and participated in a bowl game (Houston Bowl) for the first time since 1996 and for only the second time in 22 years.

Navy's improvement of 5.5 games in 2003 (from 2-10 to 8-5) was the second-best turnaround in the country and the Mids became just the sixth team in NCAA history to go from winless to a bowl game in two years or less.