2017 Navy Football Preseason Notes

• Tenth-year Navy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo will open the 2017 season when the Midshipmen report for fall camp on Monday, July 31, and will hold the first day of practice on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
• Media Day / Fan Fest is set for Saturday, Aug. 5 at 10 am at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• The annual Blue & Gold BBQ will take place on Saturday, Aug. 12. Practice starts at 9:45 am and the BBQ at 11:30 am.
• The Brigade of Midshipmen will return to the Academy on Thursday, Aug. 17. The first day of class is Monday, Aug. 21.
• Navy will kick off the 2017 campaign on Friday, Sept. 1 when it travels to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on Florida Atlantic.

Navy Fast Facts
• Navy's nine wins in 2016 are tied as the fifth most in school history. It is just the 16th time in 136 years of football that Navy has won nine or more games in a season.
• The Mids played nine teams in 2016 that finished the season with eight or more wins, which tied for the most in the country.
• In just its second season in a conference, Navy won the AAC West Division title after sharing the division crown with Houston in its first year.
• The Mids had to fight through a ton of injuries last year. Navy had a total of 102 missed games by key starters or contributors.
• Navy is 26-8 (.764) over its last 34 games. The Mids own wins over No. 15 Memphis (2015) and No. 6 Houston (2016) during that time period.
• Navy is 14-3 (.824) against AAC teams since joining the conference in 2015.
• Navy's senior class (2017) finished with a 37-16 (.698) mark. The 37 wins are the most in school history by a senior class.
• This year's seniors (2018) will enter the year with a 28-12 (.700) career record. They need to win nine games to tie and 10 games to break the record for most wins by a senior class.
• Navy will enter the 2017 season on a three-game losing streak. It is its longest losing streak since 2014 when the Mids lost three straight to Rutgers, Western Kentucky and at Air Force. The Mids won 26 of their next 31 games after the previous three-game losing streak.
• Over the last five years, Navy is 27-2 (.931) when winning the turnover battle.

Niumatalolo Spells Success
• Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo has been on the the Mids' sideline as either an assistant or head coach for 19 of the last 22 years (1995-98 and 2002-07 as an assistant, 2008-current as the head coach).
• Over those 19 years, Navy has compiled a 144-92 record (.610), won 10 Commander-In-Chief's Trophies, gone to 14 bowl games and won six bowl games, and has either shared or won the AAC West in Navy's first two years in the league. Navy is 26-12 in Service Academy games with Niumatalolo on the coaching staff (.684).
• In the 117 seasons without Niumatalolo, Navy has posted a 555-460-57 (.549) record, won five Commander-In-Chief's Trophies (in 26 years), gone to eight bowl games and won three bowl games. Navy is 54-64-7 (.460) in Service Academy games without Niumatalolo on the sideline.

Bonner and Palmore Named 2017 Team Captains
• Rising seniors slot back Darryl Bonner (Fayetteville, N.C.) and outside linebacker D.J. Palmore (Bartlett, Tenn.) have been elected team captains for the 2017 football season by their teammates.
• "Being elected team captain at the Naval Academy is one of the highest honors you can receive at an institution that prides itself on producing great leaders," said head coach Ken Niumatalolo. "Darryl and D.J. are not only outstanding football players, but they are great leaders in the locker room and in Bancroft Hall and I have no doubt that they will be great captains for us."
• Bonner, who entered his junior campaign with two career yards of total offense (rushing), turned into "Big Play" Darryl in 2016. He rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries (7.6 yds / carry), catching 10 passes for 278 yards (27.8 yds / catch) and three touchdowns and returning two kickoffs for 71 yards (35.5 yds / return). He averaged 14.0 yards every time he touched the ball.
• Palmore has started 25 career games for the Mids at outside linebacker, including 12 starts last fall. He was Navy's fourth-leading tackler a year ago with 56 stops, while leading the team in sacks (six) and tackles for a loss (11.5). In his career, Palmore has recorded 99 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss and eight sacks.