Around the Yard: New Coaches and Great Honors

NAVY

Navy Football is Looking for a new Defensive Coordinator

Navy DC Dale Pehrson is hanging up his whistle after 23 total years on the Naval Academy Football staff. Coach Niumatalolo had this to say about his third year DC ”No Coach has had more impact on Navy football than Dale PehrsonIn his 23 years here, he has coached thousands of young men, recruited hundreds, beaten Army 16 times, 15 Bowl games, won 10 CIC’s, beaten Notre Dame 4 times, and won 11 games in a single season - most in school history. As great of a coach as Dale is, he is even a better person.” Pehrson has also held coaching positions at Southern Utah and Missouri Western State College. Navy has already started the search for their next DC. In case you missed Mitch Northam’s article earlier this week you can read more about other coaching changes at the service academies here.

Navy Basketball’s Young Star Earns Honors for a Second time this Season

Midshipman 4th Class John Carter earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Carter averaged 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists a game during the week in question. The freshman guard is averaging more than 25 minutes and 9 points a game on the season.

Navy Announces 2019 Men’s Lacrosse Schedule

Navy announced their Men’s Lacrosse schedule for the 2019 campaign. Six of Navy’s opponents appear on Inside Lacrosse’s Faceoff Yearbook pre-season top 25 rankings. Noticeably absent from Navy’s to-do-list is John’s Hopkins for the second year in a row. Long time fans of Navy Lax who might have missed it, should know the series has been temporarily placed on hold due to schedule conflicts driven by conference requirements. The two teams are planning to renew the rivalry in 2020.

AIR FORCE

Air Force Names New Full Time Athletic Director

The Air Force Academy named Nathan Pine as Athletic Directorearlier this week. Pine heads to Colorado Springs from Holy Cross where he has been AD since 2013. The Falcons have been relying on Active Duty officers to serve in the position since the previous AD Jim Knowlton left for University of California Berkley. Air Force Superintendent, Lieutenant General Silveria, said the search took so long because it was a deliberate effort to find the right person for the job.

Air Force Athletes Earn Honors

Two Falcons were recognized this week with honors from their conference and the NCAA.

Sedacy Walden was named Mountain West Indoor Track Athlete of the Week after he posted the second fasted time in the nation for the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:03.28, besting his meet foes by three seconds. For those who know nothing about track, 3 seconds in a sprint is an eternity.

Junior Defensive Back Garrett Kauppila was named a First Team Academic All-American. Kauppila is the first Falcon to earn the honor in more than a decade and is only the 31st ever. Kauppila missed four games this season with a broken arm, but played in the other eight contests for the Falcons. He has earned a 3.84 GPA while studying management.

ARMY WEST POINT

Army Sports on CBS

Fans of Army Athletics will be pleased to learn their Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse team, as well as baseball, will each get at least on game televised on CBS this spring. You can expect to see Women’s Lacrosse take on Navy April 13th. You will also get to see Men’s Lacrosse and Baseball take on Navy on April 20th and 21st respectively.

Supe Daddy Gets Some NCAA Love

Former Army Football Player and West Point Superintendent, retired Lieutenant General Robert Caslen, will receive the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt award. The award, which is given annually to an individual who exemplifies the ideals of college sports, is named after the former president whose concern for the conduct of college athletics led to the formation of the NCAA in 1906. LtGen Caslen returned to his Alma Mater in 2013 and is credited a driving force behind changing the Athletic Culture for the Black Knights. Army football ended the Navy-winning streak in 2016, and came dangerously close in the two matchups before that in 2014 and 2015. The Black Knights have now won the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy in back-to-back seasons for the first time in history.

Men’s Basketball Falls to Fairleigh Dickinson

The Black Knights travelled to New Jersey to face off against another group of Knights. Army was trailing 8 points at the half in a closely contest affair. The Black Knights did a better job on defense in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap despite 11 three-pointers. Of note, four Army players reached double-double status in the game.