LCDR WESLEY BROWN, ’49

On By MikeIn naval academy11 Comments

This is a sports blog, not a “general Naval Academy happenings” blog. There are certain events, however, that transcend sports and deserve to be mentioned here. The passing of Wesley Brown is such an event.

On the strength of one link in the cable,
Dependeth the might of the chain.
Who knows when thou may’st be tested?
So live that thou bearest the strain!

The purpose of plebe summer is not simply an indoctrination to a military lifestyle. It also teaches incoming plebes the single most important lesson for military success: that the individual no longer matters. Once these new denizens of the dixie cup raise their right hands and take the oath, they become part of a team. Everything they will do after that point will be for the good of that team, and in turn they know that they can count on the team to get them through situations they didn’t think they could handle before. That mantra doesn’t end after Herndon; they will carry it with them through graduation and into their Naval careers.

Now imagine going through the rigors of this environment without a team, or even a roommate. No, simply not having a team would have been an improvement. Imagine going through USNA while those who were supposed to be your team were instead actively working against you. Inventing reasons to give you demerits and put you on restriction. Hazing you. Trying to get you to quit if they failed in their efforts to get you kicked out. How many of us could do it? How many would even want to try?

Take heed in your manner of speaking
That the language ye use may be sound,
In the list of the words of your choosing
“Impossible” may not be found.

Wesley Brown did. The history of racial integration at the Naval Academy is not a proud one, and as the first black midshipman to make it to graduation, he endured all that and more. That he was able to persevere is important, but just as important is how he did it. It would have been understandable, expected even, for LCDR Brown to want nothing to do with USNA, and to have been made bitter by his experience. Yet he wasn’t, at least not publicly. He never singled out a classmate for the way he was treated. He didn’t curse the Naval Academy, though he would have been justified in doing so. Instead, he embraced his alma mater, serving on the Alumni Association Board of Trustees and maintaining a visible presence on the yard. He continued to put ship and shipmate before self, and became the embodiment of that most fundamental of midshipman lessons. The grace with which Brown handled his burden prevented further divisiveness and accelerated the process through which the Academy corrected its wrongs and became the institution that it is today.

Doth the paintwork make war with the funnels
And the deck to the cannons complain?
Nay, they know that some soap and fresh water
Unites them as brothers again.

So ye, being heads of departments,
Do you growl with a smile on your lip,
Lest ye strive and in anger be parted,
And lessen the might of your ship.

It is appropriate, then, that there is a building bearing his name on the Yard. If it is a love of country that inspires us to serve, then how great must that love be for someone who answers the call even while being harassed by those who would have him fail? Officers capable of leadership in the face of adversity are exactly what the Naval Academy strives to produce. Future generations of midshipmen must remember the example that Brown set for them. The moment he decided to bearest the strain, our school and our country were changed for the better. 

Say the wise: How may I know their purpose?
Then acts without wherefore or why.
Stays the fool but one moment to question,
And the chance of his life passes by.

May he be remembered with gratitude as he rests in eternal peace.

Links 5/23

On By MikeIn Big East, conference talk, navy football, navy lacrosse, navy sports, patriot leagueLeave a comment

— Inside Lacrosse is reporting that Richie Meade will be named as the first head coach of the new lacrosse program at Furman. It’ll be weird seeing him on another college sideline, but we all knew it would happen at some point. Good for him, and good for Furman.

— Navy won the Patriot League Presidents’ Cup for the 2011-2012 academic year. It’s the first time Navy has won. Bucknell had won the last six, with the Mids finishing second in five of those years. Navy doesn’t play Patriot League football, field hockey, or softball, and only recently added women’s lacrosse and women’s tennis. Both of those programs have become very successful very quickly, and their rise (along with the rise of women’s programs in general) helped to finally push Navy over the top. I’ve never worried much about the Presidents’ Cup, but it’s a nice to get a bit of affirmation for a great year by the athletic department.

— Speaking of the rise of women’s lacrosse, Cindy Timchal shall now be addressed as Hall of Famer Cindy Timchal.

— Not all the news is good. As the kids say, “smh.” Sperry had dropped on the depth chart this spring thanks to the rise of Jonathan Wev, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have fought back. At the very least he would’ve provided experienced depth for a defense that had none last year. I hate the offseason.

— On to the conference expansion mess… The headline here says “Texas AD not for expanding,” but that’s not really the impression I get from reading the article. The way I read it, DeLoss Dodds is just trying to remain noncommittal, either for the sake of not tipping his hand or just not wanting to set off a firestorm of rumors based on his comments. Like this. I do believe that Big 12 expansion is far from a given, though, especially after their recent monster television deal. Would Florida State and Clemson really add that much value? Would a championship game make enough money to offset splitting television revenue by two (or more) additional teams? Maybe, but I don’t know if that’s a certainty. Let’s hope not.

— The Big East’s league meetings are wrapping up today, but there is plenty to talk about already through days 1 & 2:

  • The most interesting (and important) bit is that NBC and Fox both gave presentations on why the Big East is appealing to them. I don’t know what was contained in those presentations (or where that lovely $2 billion number came from), but I suspect that it pretty much sounded like the last few paragraphs of this. I’m telling you, this conference has the potential to make money if it can just stay together.
  • Speaking of which, one report is saying that “multiple sources” expect Air Force or BYU to join along with Navy in 2015. Well, OK. I don’t know if anyone’s “expectations” are really worth mentioning, since these stories change by the day. I’m going to need to see a lot more smoke before I believe there’s a fire there. If we’re just going to speak hypothetically, then either one of them would be a good addition. Air Force would be better for Navy, although BYU would be better for the league. The best-case scenario would be to add both of them plus Army, but don’t hold your breath. Of the two, BYU might (somewhat surprisingly) be the most likely since they are facing most of the same challenges as an independent that Navy had. I was a big fan of BYU’s independence (still am, actually), but a lot has changed even in the short time that they made that decision. I’m sure that BYU is at least keeping their options open. As for Air Force, I get the feeling that they’re content with attempting to rule the tattered remnants of the Mountain West. A Gazette column calling them “cowardly” is surely on the way.
  • Divisional alignment possibilities were also discussed, although no decision was made. I had always assumed that it would be an east-west split, given that Boise State and San Diego State were both adamant about having a western partner for the conference. I still think it makes the most sense, although I’m also sure that neither Louisville nor Cincinnati get giddy over the thought of joining a western division. All I want is for Navy to be in the same division as UCF so we can create a rivalry trophy out of George O’Leary’s severed head on a stick.
  • The championship game for the conference will be played on-campus instead of at a neutral site. GOOD.

THE BIRDDOG HALL OF AWESOME: CHRIS MCCOY

On By MikeIn Hall of Awesome, navy football25 Comments

Who’s the best Navy quarterback to run the spread option? Among the old tales being retold when two or three of us meet, that’s a fairly common one. Some point to Kaipo’s grasp of the finer points of the offense. Some point to Craig Candeto’s leadership or Ricky Dobbs’ passing and toughness. Others remind us that the team went 10-2 behind Aaron Polanco. My moment of clarity came as I was scanning through the postgame media notes handed out following the Mids’ 38-37  win over Central Michigan in 2010. Kriss Proctor started that game in place of an injured Dobbs, and did so in grand fashion, running for 201 yards on only 20 carries. One of the notes was on the ten best rushing performances by a quarterback in Navy history. Kriss was on the list, as was Alton Grizzard, Ricky Dobbs, Brian Broadwater, and Brian Madden. There was one player, though, who claimed half of the list all for himself.  Five of the ten best QB rushing performances in Navy history (including #1 and #2) were turned in by Chris McCoy.

McCoy started his first game as a sophomore against SMU in 1995. I was a plebe that year, and as such I was forced to make a bet on the game. My second class wanted me to lay a “motivational” 99 points for Navy, since I was in the class of 1999. That didn’t seem very sporting to me, so I offered a compromise of taking Navy -28 instead, since we were in the 28th company. He graciously accepted, figuring it was almost as safe a bet given Navy’s recent football fortunes. The Mids won that game 33-2, led by McCoy and his 273 rushing yards. I won my bet and had my floor waxed. Chris McCoy earned himself the undying gratitude of a mediocre plebe.

As a runner, McCoy was a special talent. Nowadays, the only time we see a quarterback sweep is when the backup is in the game and the coaches are trying to run out the clock. With Chris McCoy, that play was a staple of the offense; anything to get him out into space with the ball. He was the master of turning sideways and scooting through a hole in the line, and nobody was better at the fake pitch. As a passer, McCoy wasn’t great, but he was better than a lot of people remember and made some huge plays with his arm.

He ran for 273 yards in his first game, and capped his career by running for 201 yards against Army. In between, he was a big part of making Navy football a lot of fun for one lifelong fan in the Brigade. For that, he is granted entry into the Birddog Hall of Awesome.

THE FLUTIE EFFECT AND ADMISSIONS QUALITY

On By saltysam98In navy football7 Comments

My name is Tony and I study economics. The last time I studied economics was yesterday. I started studying economics in 2002 and I haven’t stopped since. Oh, wait, this is the wrong forum for that speech. My fault.

MikeTBD, way back in May 2010, wrote a pretty devastating and hilarious retort to a certain USNA English Professor. For the record, it was a very witty put down and it was a needed comeuppance for this particular professor. I am not going to rehash any of that here, but what caught my eye was when MikeTBD mentioned the so-called “Flutie Effect”. For those that don’t know, the Flutie Effect refers to the phenomenon of having a successful college sports team increase the exposure and prominence of a university. It is named after Boston College’s QB Doug Flutie whose game winning Hail Mary pass in the 1984 game against the University of Miami allegedly played a large role in the school’s increased applications the following year.

This got me thinking about the quality aspect of the Flutie Effect and not simply the quantity. One of the criticisms offered about the Flutie Effect is that it doesn’t attract smarter students and therefore it’s not all that useful for a college. “Hey, the school just gets more applications from easily impressionable low quality students” goes the argument. There is data in the study to support that thesis. BUT, and this is a big BUT, the study also found that all SAT subgroups (900 and below, 901-1090, an 1100+) increased as well. I will now break down, in detail, the econometrics used to generate these findings. I’m just kidding. I wouldn’t do that to you dear reader. The study also found the following (pages 19-20):

The results indicate that sports success increases application rates for all three SAT subgroups. However, the lower SAT scoring students (less than 900) respond to sports success by about twice as much as the higher SAT scoring students. These results suggest that schools that have athletic success are not receiving extra applications solely from low performing students and greatly strengthen the SAT results derived from the Peterson’s data [emphasis added]. It appears that athletic success does indeed present an opportunity to schools to be either more selective in their admission standards or enroll more students while keeping a fixed level of student quality.

Using two unique and comprehensive datasets in conjunction with an econometric design that controls for the unobservable features of schools, we find that football and basketball success increase the quantity of applications to a school, with estimates ranging from 2-8% for the top 20 football schools and the top 16 basketball schools each year. We also provide evidence that the extra applications are composed of students with both low and high SAT scores. Additional evidence that we present suggests that schools use these extra applications to both increase student quality and increase enrollment size. There is no evidence that schools adjust tuition levels in response to receiving these extra applications.

Why is this important Salty? Hey, thanks for asking. It’s important because the admissions offices are getting more qualified applicants. Even if just 10% of the excess (read: Flutie effect) applicants are from super smart kids, then that is a win for the university. Sure, the admissions staff is going to have to spend time on lesser quality kids too. But those applicants are normally screened out pretty quickly. A kid with a 700 SAT (math+verbal) who applies to Stanford because of Andrew Luck isn’t going to garner much attention from the admissions committee (unless he kills or captures Joseph Kony). So, the admissions office might have a problem on its hands with more applications, but it’s a good problem to have based on the data.

Major sports programs like football and basketball create a positive externality (in economic jargon) for most schools. I’m sure that goes for nearly all schools. I doubt that USNA is an exception.

Here’s the link to the study by the Pope brothers: http://economics.byu.edu/Documents/Jaren%20Pope/pope_pope_2007_sports2web.pdf

Links 5/18

On By MikeIn conference talk, navy football, navy sports, patriot league1 Comment

— Filed under “obviously we all know nothing about anything,” SMU fired AD (and former Navy associate AD) Steve Orsini. As an outsider, the move is a bit of a shock since it appears on the surface that all of SMU’s athletic vectors are up. This is one of those things reminding us that when all we know is what’s on the surface, we don’t really know anything at all. One writer in Fort Worth panders to his audience by wondering if TCU’s successes influenced the move. Kate Hairopoulos reports the far more likely scenario that it was more about clashes with SMU’s president, R. Gerald Turner. Whatever the reason, I can’t imagine that Orsini will be out of a job for long.

— It’s official: Old Dominion is joining Conference USA. As Navy people, a lot of us have spent considerable time in & around Norfolk and are quite familiar with ODU. This is crazy! In a good way, though. I’ve only recently become used to the idea of the Monarchs having a football team. But a I-A team? Bananas. I’d say to get them on the schedule, but that’ll be hard to do once Navy is in the Big East. But it HAS to happen, right? Meanwhile, Pete Medhurst wonders what it means for the future of the CAA.

— Pre-Snap Read continues with its look at every I-A program, including Navy opponents Central Michigan and Troy (plus a bit more on Troy).

— I’m telling you, it’s consolidation.

— Lafayette lacrosse coach Terry Mangan resigned. The Leopards had half of a good season in 2010. That’s about it.

— A life well lived.

— Finally, I will be a guest on the Three Point Stance show tomorrow, talking Navy and the Big East and whatever else comes up. It’s archived afterwards, so you don’t need to plan your Saturday night around me. Because you know you were totally thinking about it.

Links 5/17

On By MikeIn navy football, navy sportsLeave a comment

— If I was going to steal money from Maryland taxpayers, I’d probably buy Navy season tickets too!

— Some recruiting bits here and here.

— CollegeSwimming.com has some accolades for Navy assistant coach Rob Lias.

— Press Box has a blurb on local football programs, and PennLive.com has a Navy preview from a Penn State perspective. Neither is all that profound, but at least it isn’t more conference expansion stuff.

Expanding the Expansion Update

On By MikeIn Big East, conference talk1 Comment

As Andy mentioned this morning, San Diego State is lobbying the Big West on Boise State’s behalf as the Broncos search for a home for sports other than football. The conference is at least willing to listen, but it’s far from a done deal. Hopefully this effort gains some traction so the Big East can get past this hurdle and move into television negotiations without any lingering membership issues.

Continue reading “Expanding the Expansion Update” →

Expansion Update

On By AndyIn Big EastLeave a comment

According to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz, the Big West has opened up the possibility of accepting Boise State’s non-football teams. Such a move would provide Boise the landing sport they need now that the WAC looks to be a lame duck conference. There had been rumblings in the past week or so about Boise reconsidering their jump to the Big East and possibly staying with the MWC. Securing a position in the Big West would virtually assure the move happens (and would also shut down any talk of San Diego State going back to the MWC – they’re already in with the Big West for the rest of their sports).

The only downside? Lazy sportswriters and bad bloggers using “OMG BIG EAST FOR FOOTBALL BIG WEST FOR EVERYTHING ELSE LOL BIG EAST IS DUMB” as the basis for posts made in the 2 weeks following any such announcement.

PHIL EMERY BRINGS STRENGTH & DEDICATION TO CHICAGO BEARS

On By saltysam98In navy football3 Comments

Phil Emery presser

For those who follow Navy Football religiously, the name Phil Emery brings back good memories.  From 1991 to 1998, Coach Emery served as the strength & conditioning coach for Navy football.  When his former players think of him, it is the toughness, dedication, and commitment that stand out. The stereotypical strength & conditioning coach is a big man with a no nonsense attitude who pushes players beyond their perceived performance limits. Phil Emery is that and a lot more.  He brought continuity and leadership to the team. LtCol Brian Grana USMC, who played Navy football in the 1990s and trained under Phil Emery, had this to say:

“While we were all still figuring out how to be Midshipmen and future Navy and Marine Corps Officers, Phil “Satan” Emery made us men.  He is easily one of the most influential people I have ever come across – and this is not hyperbole.”

John Feinstein made Phil Emery famous in his 1996 book Army-Navy: A Civil War. Emery earned the nickname Satan by the Navy football players because of his meticulous attention to detail, brutal workouts, and almost superman-like commitment to his duties. [Editor’s note: a quick Google search of “Phil Emery and Satan” yields over 7.7 million hits].  One story from Feinstein’s book really stands out.

One winter morning, an ice storm had completely shut down the eastern seaboard. Since Emery lived outside of Annapolis, the players arrived for their 5:30 AM running and conditioning session fully convinced they would end up with a morning off. But as they walked through the darkness to Ricketts Hall, they saw a lone car sitting in the parking lot waiting for them—Emery’s. Only the devil himself could have made it there before dawn—and taken such pleasure in being there on a totally miserable morning.

After leaving USNA in 1998, Emery’s career continued to flourish.  He scouted a total of 14 seasons for the Bears, Falcons and Chiefs respectively. He earned great admiration and respect around the NFL much the way he did at USNA.

All that hard work led to the job of a lifetime.  On January 28, Phil Emery was named the General Manager for the Chicago Bears.  He has his work cut out for him. The Bears are coming off a disappointing 8-8 season with off the field drama and contract disputes. But if any man is capable of handling such issues, it’s Phil Emery.