Navy’s Rise to Respectability

Respectability: the state or quality of being accepted as valid or important within a particular field.

“Respectability” has always described the United States Naval Academy, which has trained and educated future servicemen and women in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for the last 170 years. But in the modern era of college football, Navy football’s rise to “respectability” wasn’t garnered by virtue of name brand, or historical recognition; it was earned on the field.

ESPN reported in late January that conference commissioners are up in arms over the current date of the annual Army-Navy game — played a week after conference championship Saturday. They’re worried that in the new Playoff era, and with Navy’s football membership in the American Athletic Conference, the Midshipmen could potentially have an undefeated regular season, win the AAC, then lose to Army a week after accepting a New Year’s Six bowl bid. It’s definitely a pertinent issue that Army, Navy, and the Playoff committee must address, but the fact that it’s even an issue illustrates the “respectability” Navy has earned in the ranks of college football.

Before former Navy head coach Paul Johnson, now Georgia Tech’s head football coach, took over the Midshipmen in 2002, respect for the football program was minimal, and bowl games were an occasional event; not something expected. That all changed when Johnson led Navy to its first bowl game since 1996 in 2003. Fast forward 12 years, and the Midshipmen have gone to ll bowl games, beaten archrival Army 14 straight seasons, and won three games against Notre Dame. The Middies had been to only nine bowls the 117 years prior to 2003; knocked off the Irish only three times in 48 seasons leading up to the 2007 win in South Bend; and before Johnson’s tenure, Army led the annual rivalry with Navy 49-46-7 — Navy now leads by 10 games.

How did Johnson change the culture at Navy? How did “the rise” begin?

“First thing we did was eliminate all the excuses and the reasons you can’t win,” Johnson told AAC Football Fever. “Focus on toughness, pride, and mental toughness…not avoiding anything.”

Johnson said players at the Academy tend to play with a chip on their shoulder. They’re aware of the unique situation Navy presents: earning a world-class education, serving their country, and playing for a winning football program. Johnson started off his tenure playing the role of psychologist — preaching to his players that winning starts with attitude before you can move on to preparedness. And once winning takes place, you thirst to keep it rolling.

“Once they changed their mindset,” Johnson said. “Players started saying, ‘we’re not going back…we’re not going to be the senior class that takes the program back to where it was.”

Johnson’s successor and current Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo owns seven of the 14 straight victories over Army, two of the three victories over Notre Dame since 2007, and six of the last 11 bowl appearances, and is now Navy’s all-time winningest coach.

“First and foremost, it starts with the players we’ve recruited to bring in that fit our culture,” Niumatalolo said about his program’s continuity.

“The Naval Academy implements discipline, work ethic, selflessness…those qualities are elements we’ve had some success with helping us get better kids,” Niumatalolo said.

Johnson praises “Kenny” for the job he’s done with Navy following his departure.

“He’s kept a lot of the same things in place,” Johnson said. “But he was comfortable with adding his own touches to the program.”

Johnson didn’t elaborate on the “touches” Niumatalolo added to the program, but Navy’s sustained success suggests whatever he’s added is working.

One staple from the Johnson era still in place at Navy is the triple-option offense. The option allows smaller, less talented teams to take advantage of defensive mismatches, and is a pain for D-coordinators to prepare for on a week’s notice. Navy offensive linemen averaged 288.4 pounds in 2014. Compare that to the average weight of an offensive lineman in the Southeastern Conference (311 pounds), and it becomes clear why the Middies use creativity on offense to level the playing field.

“We know what we do gives us the best chance to win,” Niumatalolo said. “We’re not swayed by the trends of the day.”

The administration has also played a crucial role in Navy’s rise to success, according to Johnson. Navy has better facilities than ever before, and is more invested in their football program.

The AAC inviting Navy as football-only member sums up just how far the program has come in the last 12 years, and where it can go into the future. Reading, “AAC Champs,” after “Navy” could be a common thread on ESPN’s scrolling “bottom line” for years to come.

Navy has a 34-27-1 record against current AAC members, and has played SMU and Tulane over 16 times in its history.

“We’re excited about playing in the AAC,” Niumatalolo said. “We’ve played a lot of these teams before, so some familiarity will be there.”

All of these changes (conference membership, annual bowl appearances, respect from opponents) are all earned from creating a winning culture.

“Overall, [these] are byproducts of being successful,” Niumatalolo said.

Navy football is now at a level of respectability reminiscent of the respect long earned by the service academy. And it isn’t falling back anytime soon.

*All quotes were obtained firsthand.