6/29/2005 - Football
Future Navy Football Schedules

2006
Sept. 2 East Carolina
Sept. 9 Massachusetts
Sept. 16 at Stanford
Sept. 23 Tulsa
Sept. 30 at Connecticut
Oct. 7 at Air Force
Oct. 14 Rutgers (Homecoming)
Oct. 28 Notre Dame (Baltimore)
Nov. 4 at Duke
Nov. 11 at Eastern Michigan
Nov. 18 Temple
Dec. 2 Army (Philadelphia)

2007
Sept. 1 at Temple
Sept. 8 at Rutgers
Sept. 15 Akron
Sept. 22 Wake Forest
Sept. 29 Air Force
Oct. 13 at Pittsburgh
Oct. 20 Duke (Homecoming)
Oct. 27 Delaware
Nov. 3 at Notre Dame
Nov. 10 at Connecticut
Nov. 17 Kent State
Dec. 1 Army (Baltimore)

2008
Aug. 30 Connecticut
Sept. 13 at Duke
Sept. 20 Rutgers
Sept. 27 at Wake Forest
Oct. 4 at Air Force
Oct. 18 Pittsburgh (Homecoming)
Oct. 25 SMU
Nov. 15 Notre Dame (Baltimore)
Nov. 22 at Kent State
Dec. 6 Army (Philadelphia)
*Two games to be added


Football: Navy adds 12th game to its schedules
By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer

Naval Academy football fans will be seeing more home games -- and hopefully
more wins -- as a result of recent NCAA legislation.

In April, the NCAA approved a 12-game regular season for football -- a move
that was welcomed by Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk.

"As an institution, we were very supportive of a 12th game. It made all the
sense in the world," Gladchuk said.

Gladchuk pointed out that Navy already has three open dates during the
season and plays neutral site games against Army annually and Notre Dame
every other year.

"This gives us an opportunity to add another home game, which is good for
the team, good for the fans and good for athletic department," Gladchuk
said. "We'll take the finances."

Gladchuk has moved quickly to add a 12th game to future football schedules.
Navy will now open the 2006 campaign against East Carolina at Navy-Marine
Corps Memorial Stadium while a home contest against Delaware has been added
in 2007.

"We were looking for attractive opponents that our fans will want to see and
that was comparable in terms of competitive level," Gladchuk said.

There has been a mad scramble among athletic directors to pick up new
opponents since the 12-game season was approved. Gladchuk said he's been in
contact with dozens of schools looking for the right fit.

There were brief discussions with Florida State about a possible meeting at
Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, but Gladchuk said emphatically last week
"that is not going to happen."

Gladchuk said he will continue to build a "balanced" schedule that gives
Navy a legitimate chance at a winning record.

"Our goal would be to divide a 12-game schedule into thirds in terms of
strength -- four games in which we are favored, four that are even, and four
in which we are the underdog," he said.

Yet there are few big-name opponents, and no perennial Top 25 schools, on
Navy's schedules through 2008.

Road games against Duke and Stanford along with a home contest versus
Rutgers constitute "playing up" in 2006. Navy figures to be the underdog at
home versus Wake Forest and Duke along with on the road at Pittsburgh and
Notre Dame in 2007.

Navy's strength of schedule for 2007 took a hit when California backed out
of an agreement. New athletic director Sandy Barbour, an Annapolis native,
dropped Navy after the Pac-10 increased its number of conference games from
eight to nine.

Gladchuk did not balk since he replaced the road game with California with a
home contest versus Akron.

Gladchuk is still working to finalize the 2008 slate, which currently stands
at 10 games. He is hoping to pick up two more games, giving the Midshipmen
six that season.

Gladchuk has agreed in principle to open the 2009 campaign at Hawaii. The
Rainbows beat the Mids 48-41 in 1999 in an exciting matchup that drew a
large crowd to Aloha Stadium.

Navy head coach Paul Johnson was offensive coordinator at Hawaii from
1987-1994. Current assistants Ken Niumatalolo and Ivin Jasper played
quarterback for the Rainbows during Johnson's tenure.

"Hawaii is a destination spot with a strong Naval presence," Gladchuk said.
"I think that would be a great trip for our team and our fans."

Navy would be allowed to schedule 13 games in 2009 if one was at Hawaii.
That's because contests outside the continental United States are excluded
from the limit.