8/1/2005 - Football
Navy Football Team To Start Practice On Friday

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Navy Football Press Release

Navy Football Team To Start Practice On Friday

Coming off its most successful season in 99 years, the Navy football team will begin preparing for the 2005 season on Friday, with a 4 p.m. practice.

The Mids return 28 letterwinners off last year's squad, including just seven starters (two on offense, three on defense and two on special teams).

The team will practice at least once per day (except Aug. 21 and Aug. 28) leading up to the Maryland game. Two-a-day practices will be held Aug. 10, Aug. 12 and Aug. 15.

2005 NAVY FOOTBALL PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Date Time Location
Aug. 5 4-6:30 p.m. Academy
Aug. 6 4-6:30 p.m. Academy
Aug. 7 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 8 4-6:30 p.m. Academy
Aug. 9 4-6:30 p.m. Academy
Aug. 10 9-11 a.m. Academy
Aug. 10 4:15-6:15 p.m. Academy
Aug. 11 4-6:30 p.m. Academy
Aug. 12 9-11 a.m. Academy
Aug. 12 4:15-6:15 Academy
Aug. 13 9:30-11:30 a.m. (scrimmage) Academy
Aug. 14 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 15 9-11 a.m. Academy
Aug. 15 4:15-6:15 p.m. Academy
Aug. 16 4:15-6:15 p.m. Academy
Aug. 17 4-6:30 p.m. Academy
Aug. 18 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 19 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 20 9:30-11:30 a.m. (scrimmage) Navy-Marine Corps
Aug. 22 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 23 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 24 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 25 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 26 4-6 p.m. Academy
Aug. 27 9:30-11:30 a.m. (scrimmage) Navy-Marine Corps
Aug. 29 GAME WEEK Academy

Preseason Predictions
Preseason magazines have projected varying degrees of success for the 2005 Navy football team. Below is a recap of what the magazines predict.

Magazine Ranked (out of 119)
Lindy's 72nd
The Sporting News 70th
Phil Steele's Preseason 93rd
College Football News 85th
Athlon 69th

Navy On Historic Run
Navy's 18 wins over the last two years (8-5 in 2003, 10-2 in 2004) ties the school record for most wins over a two-year span. The Mids also won 18 games over a two-year span in 1907-08 (9-2-1 in 1907 and 9-2-1 in 1908), 1905-06 (10-1-1 in 1905 and 8-2-2 in 1906) and 1906-07 (8-2-2 in 1906 and 9-2-1 in 1907). The school record for the best three-year stretch is 27 wins from 1905-07.

Winning Season
Navy has posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1996-97. Navy has not had three-straight winning seasons since 1978-82 when the Mids strung together six-consecutive winning seasons.

Johnson Tough With Time
Paul Johnson has posted a 10-4 record (.714) as Navy's head coach when having more than one week to prepare.

In 2002, the Mids posted a 2-2 record with more than one week to prepare, defeating SMU and Army and losing to Northwestern and Notre Dame.

In 2003, Navy was 4-1 in games in which they had more than one week to prepare, defeating VMI, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Army and losing to Texas Tech in the Houston Bowl.

In 2004, the Mids were 4-1 (defeating Duke, Rutgers, Army and New Mexico and losing to Notre Dame) when having more than one week to prepare.

This year, Johnson will have four games where he will have more than one week to prepare: Maryland (Sept. 3), Rice (Sept. 24), Rutgers (Oct. 29) and Army (Dec. 3).

In Paul We Trust
Navy football has struggled over the last 20 years, compiling an overall
record of 78-157 (.332).

The Mids, however, have not struggled when Paul Johnson has been
calling the plays.

Johnson has been at Navy for five of those 20 years (two years as a
coordinator and this is his third season as a head coach), and in those five
years, the Mids are 34-26 (.567) and have appeared in three bowl
games, winning two. The Mids are 18-7 (.720) over the last two years and
have won 16 of their last 21 contests (.762).

In the 15 years Johnson hasn't been on the sidelines, Navy is
45-131(.256).

Johnson 3-0 In Season Openers
Navy head coach Paul Johnson is 3-0 in season openers as the head
coach at Navy. Navy has defeated SMU (38-7), VMI (37-10) and Duke
(27-12) in the season opener the last three years. Prior to 2002, Navy had
lost five-straight season opening contests.

Going For 600
With 599 all-time wins, Navy is 28th among Division I-A schools. Navy's
all-time football record is 599-498-7 (.544).

Johnson Dominant Against Service Academy Teams
Navy head football coach Paul Johnson is 5-1 as a head coach against
service academy teams, which is the best start for a Navy head coach
against the other two service academies since George Welsh started
his Hall-of-Fame career 5-1 (1973-75). Welsh finished his career 13-4-1
against the other two service academy teams.

No Overtime
Since the NCAA adopted the overtime rule in 1996, Navy is one of just two schools (North Texas is the other) who have yet to play an overtime game.

Home Sweet Home
Navy has won eight-straight home games dating back to last year, the longest home winning streak since the Mids won eight in a row over three seasons (1995-97). Navy is 10-1 (.909) at home over the last two years after losing 14 straight from 2001-03. The Mids were undefeated at home in 2004, marking the first time they have gone unbeaten at Navy-Marine Corps since 1996.

Rebuilding The Program
Navy head coach Paul Johnson took over a program that had won just one game in the previous two years (1-20), the worst two-year record in the history of Navy football. As Johnson says, ?the program didn't get this way overnight and it's not going to change overnight.?

For instance, Navy's all-time winningest coach, George Welsh, who was 55-46-1 (41-44-1 against Division I-A teams, 14-2 against I-AA opponents) from 1973-81 at Navy, took over a program that had won seven games the previous two seasons and didn't have a winning season until his third year (7-4 in 1975) and only had one winning season in his first five years (24-31 in his first five years). It wasn't until year six that Welsh got the program turned around and the Mids posted a 31-15-1 record over his final four years in Annapolis and played in three bowl games, including a win over BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

Since Welsh, Gary Tranquill posted a 17-26-1 (.398) record, Elliott Uzelac was 8-25 (.242), George Chaump won 14 of his 55 games (.255) and Charlie Weatherbie was 30-48 (.385).
Since Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy in 1963 (40 years ago), Navy has had 10 winning seasons (1967, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004) and nine seasons with two wins or less (1968, 1969, 1970, 1987, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002).

In the last 20 years, Navy has had four winning seasons (1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004) and six seasons with two wins or less (1987, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001 and 2002).

Navy Football Team Ranks Second In NCAA's Academic Progress Rate Among Division I-A Schools
The Naval Academy athletic program is ranked the best in the country among the 117 schools with Division I-A football programs in the Academic Performance Rate (APR). Navy is No. 7 overall out of 328 Division I institutions and first among the three service academies.
The APR is the fulcrum upon which the entire academic-reform structure rests. Developed as a more real-time assessment of teams' academic performance than the six-year graduation-rate calculation provides, the APR awards two points each term to student-athletes who meet academic-eligibility standards and who remain with the institution. A team's APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible.

"Our student-athletes continually strive to set the standard on the Yard for our Brigade in military performance, academics and conduct," said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. "The support and encouragement they receive through the Commandant and his staff and the academic dean's office is extraordinary and provides tremendous motivation to be successful across the board. We are all proud to be leaders on the field of competition, but even more so when we can prove to be leaders in the classroom as well, clearly defining the meaning of a midshipman who is truly a scholar-athlete."

The Naval Academy had 10 sports programs ranked first with an APR rank of 1,000, meaning every student-athlete on their respective roster remained at the Naval Academy and was also eligible to compete or graduate. Those programs are: men's cross country, golf, men's gymnastics, men's soccer, men's tennis, men's indoor track, men's outdoor track, women's crew, women's swimming and rifle.

The Navy football team had the second-highest APR score in the country with a 992, just two points behind first-place Stanford, and had the highest score among teams ranked in the final top-25 poll.

Each of Navy's 23 varsity sports that are sponsored by the NCAA is above the national average.

APR COMPARISON

Top 10 APR Scores Among Division I-A Schools
Rank Institution Academic Progress Report
1 Navy 990
2 Miami (Ohio) 986
3 Duke 984
4 Ball State 983
5 Rice 981
6 Northwestern 980
7 Boston College 979
7 Notre Dame 979
7 Stanford 979
7 Wake Forest 979

Top 10 APR Scores Among Divison I Schools
Rank Institution Academic Progress Report
1 Yale 999
2 Princeton 994
3 Pennsylvania 993
4 William & Mary 992
5 Loyola Marymount 991
5 Villanova 991
7 Navy 990
7 Bradley 990
7 Harvard 990
7 Samford 990

CSTV And Navy Sign Long-Term Multi-Media Deal For Home Football Games And Additional Atletic Events
CSTV Networks, Inc. (www.cstv.com), the first 24-hour college sports network, has secured the exclusive television rights to all home and select neutral site Navy football games (excluding Notre Dame and Army), as well as other Navy men's and women's athletic events, original programming and documentaries centered around the storied Navy athletic program starting next fall. The long-term multi-media agreement includes internet streaming,
broadband and video-on-demand rights and high definition rights starting in 2006. A major part of the agreement was that all home football games would be played on Saturday.

CSTV's first Navy football telecast will be Saturday, Sept. 3 against Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. It will be the first meeting between the two schools in 40 years.

?The United States Naval Academy has established something special on fall Saturdays in Annapolis, and CSTV is proud to partner with Navy to deliver the pageantry, electricity and tradition to a national audience,? said Tim Pernetti, senior vice president for programming and talent at CSTV. ?This partnership is about more than football. It is about commitment to all the student-athletes in every sport. CSTV's relationship with Navy will provide programming, through all forms of media, surrounding every Navy athletic team, in addition to original programming rich with exclusive access, unparalleled storytelling and history.?

?Tim Pernetti did a terrific job of listening very carefully to how a television package of this magnitude had to be comprised to accommodate the special considerations of Navy,? said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. ?He created a comprehensive distribution opportunity for us that delivers on every front. Traditional Navy football is a Saturday game, features all the pageantry our alumni expect and is a product that should be available to viewers both nationally and internationally for the fleet. The CSTV partnership does it all. We are very excited and grateful the long-term commitment has been finalized.?
?This is exciting news for the Navy football program,? said Navy head football coach Paul Johnson. ?It's great for our fans and it will help recruiting, as well. I like the fact that we didn't sell our soul to be on television. All of our home games will be played when they should be played, on Saturday.?

CSTV Networks is a multi-media company that consists of the first-ever 24-hour college sports television network, College Sports TV; the leading college sports online network, CSTV.com; and the first ever 24-hour college sports radio network, SIRIUS College Sports Radio. Through its numerous platforms, CSTV provides more live college sports games, events, news, information, analysis and broadband content, and reaches more college sports fans, than any other company.

College Sports TV, voted the No. 1 emerging cable network among operators in a 2003 Beta research study, televises regular season and championship event coverage from over 35 men's and women's sports across every major collegiate athletic conference, as well as many NCAA and NAIA Championships.

College Sports TV has agreements with distributors that represent more than 65 million homes nationwide, including the top six national distributors: Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner, Charter, Cox and Adelphia.

Naval Academy To Install FieldTurf At Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
FieldTurf will be the new turf at Navy's Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The installation is projected to be finished by Aug. 15.? The new surface will debut when Navy plays host to Stanford in the Midshipmen's home opener on Sept. 10.
FieldTurf is currently in use in more than 20 NCAA Division 1-A football stadiums including Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, Kansas State, Boston College and Missouri.? ?

"We were very careful in our review and analysis of a number of very impressive products before we decided to select FieldTurf," said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk.? "The competition in the marketplace is aggressive however, in the end, no other product could deliver the whole package like the FieldTurf team.? The detail in every aspect of the product and installation made it crystal clear that these people are real pros and FieldTurf is the benchmark to which all others are compared."?

"I can't express how proud we are to have this association with the U.S. Naval Academy," said Gilman.? "The history and prestige that are associated with this great institution speaks for itself. On the heels of Navy's fantastic 2004 season, we are obviously very pleased that they have selected the undisputed industry leader for their new stadium turf.? The players, coaches, support staff and fans of Navy football will be delighted with their new FieldTurf surface when they step onto the field for that first home game against Stanford in September."? ?

In addition to its growing popularity in the college ranks, FieldTurf has already established itself as the turf of choice in the National Football League.? Twenty of the NFL's 32 teams currently use FieldTurf at their stadiums and/or their practice facilities.? Also, three Major League Baseball teams will use FieldTurf at their stadiums in 2005.? FieldTurf was also the first artificial turf product approved by FIFA (soccer's world governing body) for World Cup play.? ?

The NFL Players Association recently conducted a survey of all NFL players who were asked to rank the league's 32 stadium fields on a variety of factors, such as playability, safety, etc.? The NFL players ranked FieldTurf fifth out of 32, and amazingly, NFL players rated FieldTurf ahead of 15 of the league's 19 natural grass fields.? ?

FieldTurf is the result of years of research - evident in the patented FieldTurf infill mix of silica sand and cryogenic rubber and patented layering process that deliver a system that emulates natural grass. Additional benefits are found in improved player safety, reduced maintenance costs and flexibility for conversion? - allowing stadium managers to quickly change the field from one sport to another or to easily host a variety of sporting events, concerts and other special events directly on top of the FieldTurf surface.?? ?