We have a women’s basketball coach! Navy has hired Bowdoin head coach Stefanie Pemper to take charge of its struggling women’s basketball program. I’m not going to pretend to know a thing about Division III women’s basketball, but this:

Bowdoin has become the most consistent Division III power in the nation under Pemper’s direction, leading the program to six-consecutive NCAA Elite 8 appearances (2002-07) and seven-straight trips to the Sweet 16 (2001-07). In 2004, Pemper’s squad compiled a 30-1 mark and became the first team in any sport in school history to play for a National Championship. Pemper was honored after the 2004 season as the WBCA Division III National Coach of the Year.

Pemper’s clubs dominated the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), winning seven-consecutive league titles from 2001-07 and Bowdoin rarely, if ever, lost at home winning 76-consecutive games from 2001-07, the fourth-longest streak in Division III basketball history.

seems pretty impressive. That success came at a school that is very demanding academically, which I’m sure played a part in Pemper’s hiring. I look forward to seeing how she chooses to unleash the  fury of Cassie Consedine upon the rest of the Patriot League.

The Congressional Bowl is a go. Almost exactly a year after we first heard about the possibility, Christian Swezey has the details about the new bowl game for Washington DC. The Congressional Bowl will be played December 20th between a bowl-eligible Navy team and ACC #9… meaning that it’ll probably be a bowl-eligible Navy team and someone outside the ACC. The MAC was the rumored backup candidate should the ACC not have 9 eligible teams, which it probably won’t. Still left to be decided is whether the game will be played at the new Nationals Park or at trusty ol’ RFK. The Nats’ new home is certainly the shinier and more glamorous of the two, but with most Navy fans probably driving to the game, everyone’s going to end up parking at RFK anyway. Might as well play the game there. (Disclaimer: Football games at RFK are some of my most treasured childhood memories, and I am extremely biased. )

Bad news for Greg Sudderth. Bill Wagner is reporting that wide receiver Greg Sudderth’s request for a fifth year of eligibility has been denied by the NCAA.

“I’m very disappointed for Greg. I felt he deserved another season,” Niumatalolo said.

“Sometimes, things are too black-and-white with the NCAA. We were hoping they would look at the totality of the situation and the fact this kid has never been able to play a full season.”

Sudderth switched to wide receiver last year after playing most of his career as a defensive back. He appeared to be adjusting well to his new position, blocking aggressively and catching 6 passes over the first half of the season (including impressive grabs against Duke and Delaware) before an ankle injury ended his season. That might not sound like much, but when you consider our leading receiver only had 13 catches all year, it was a significant contribution to the offense. Sudderth was expected to start this year.