Let me explain this. In American college football, the three military academies are overwhelmed by the athletic scholarships that regular colleges offer, and they are barely able to stay in the NCAAF. However, I root for them. Now that I like futball better than football, I thought I'd take a look at them. This morning, Air Force and Army fought to a tie. Air Force is now 1-1-1.
Good Heavens. As of today, all three military academies are tied at 1-1-1. Today, Air Force tied Army, and earlier, Air Force tied Navy.
At the service academies, every student gets a deal that the NCAA would find to be illegal anywhere else.
Not that long ago, the soccer programs at all three service academies were struggling, but lately, their fortunes have picked up, thanks in large part to upgraded coaching. In 2013, Navy went 16-4-2 and reached double figures in wins for the first time since 2001. This was the highest win total in school history. In 2013, Army went 12-3-3 and reached double figures in wins for the first time since 1996. In 2011 and 2012, Air Force posted double figures in wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1996-97 Since they can't be as flexible about whom they admit/recruit, their strength depends a lot on who their upperclassmen are (Air Force stunk last fall), but they've certainly proven they can be competitive.
Right you are, Espola. Unlike American college football, soccer athletes don't get huge perks that get the best players for the biggest universities. It is true that military academy students are paid (They are actually IN the military) and pay no tuition or room and board. On the other hand, they must follow a rigid academic schedule that does not provide any easy courses for the athletes.
I like how they are trying to grow the Army-Navy soccer match. They have use the Philadelphia Union stadium the past few seasons. Nice and neutral, and the match was pretty good last year. Army was really bad a few years ago, and last year had their first good year in a while. I would love to see this match grow. Just as in American Football, I find it funny that Air Force is always on the outside looking in.
Rob, when I was a kid, the Army-Navy (American) football game actually made the headlines every year. And with so many veterans and their families, it is still a big draw, even though military American football teams are no longer champions.
Shiver me timbers, Coast Guard Academy is 3-0-0! The bad news is that they are a Division 3 team, while the other three academies are all NCAA.
They send waves after waves of offensive players... Ok I go out, sorry for my bad pun... Difficult to master a foreign language...
Just so you don't discuss the Coast Guard American football team. (It's a good thing the Coast Guard is better at heroism than it is at American football). To be fair, the Coast Guard Academy is a small college. Short on students, tall on courage.
I don't know much about the Air Force coach, but Army and Navy have two good ones. Dave Brandt was the best D-3 coach ever until he left for Navy and he built them back-up faster than most imagined. He has a couple of players on that team who could get MLS interest if it weren't for that whole service commitment thing. Russell Payne, an ex-MLS backup, won a couple of titles as an assistant at Maryland an was on Tab Ramos' staff for the last U20 cycle. Army was awful when he got there and now they're competitive. Both of these guys I imagine will have chances to go to bigger schools in more established programs. Whether they go or not, I can't say, but they are both well-regarded.
Right you are, Espola, but let me explain. The NCAA (National College Athletic Association) is the "major league" of US college sports, and it sets strict standards of conduct for its teams. However, only Division 1 teams are referred to as "NCAA." In order to provide fresh meat...I mean, future teams, the NCAA will admit weaker colleges to its lower divisions. By submitting to NCAA standards, these weaker schools can attract more donors, get better players, and have a better reputation.
I must have been doing it wrong all these years. I often refer to NCAA Division 1 teams as D1, NCAA Division 2 teams as D2, and NCAA Division 3 teams as D3. When I speak of, or hear others speak of, "NCAA teams" my mind leaves open the possibility of all three divisions, but excludes other entities such as NAIA.
The good week continues as Navy is leading Maryland. I teach at a 2 year school that has a large number of cadets. We get about 20 Coast Guard Prep cadets each year. Good kids. I know of at least two that are now starting for the women's team.
I teach at a two-year school that is designated as one of the military junior colleges (there are 5). We have multiple campuses, but on the main campus, where I teach, we have a corps of cadets that is about 250. Our total student population is around 1200. Of those 250, we will have somewhere in the ballpark of 15-20 Coast Guard Prep cadets. These are students who did not make it into the Coast Guard Academy, but with some work in math, English and science they might receive an appointment to the Academy. That is a small portion of our student body, but they are good kids.
All right! Navy just beat Maryland 2-1! Navy is now 2-1-1. And the game was a double-header, meaning that the Women's Soccer teams also played. They settled for a draw, making Navy Women 2-2-2.
Sorry, but you're just out you're out to lunch here. D-II and D-III are NCAA. Always have been. Saying otherwise makes you look ignorant and ignorance should be ignored.
i am just stopping in here to laugh at the very very wrong guy and not talk about how frustrated i am about maryland's loss [it's a lot]
I'm surprised at how successful the NCAA publicity department has been. Since I'm more familiar with American college football than soccer, I'll explain that. Sub-division teams are indeed OFFICIALLY a part of the NCAA . In real life, however: 1) No ranking service, even the unofficial ones, rank them with the NCAA. Some of the ranking services do list them in a separate system. 2) No TV station has ever broadcast their games as NCAA. 3) The sub-division teams have their own bowl games, which attract so little attention that many college football fans do not know they exist. 4) NCAA teams are not permitted to play in sub-division bowl games. 5) Sub-division teams are not permitted to play in NCAA bowl games. 6) The NCAA had its own ranking system for bowl games, which they dropped after last year. While it existed, sub-division teams were not included and were not eligible. 7) The sub-divisions are not equal to the NCAA. For instance, in American Major League Baseball, all the leagues and divisions are equal. But NCAA Divisions 2 and 3 are not equal to Division 1--they are minor league teams. 8) Internet sports sites, such as Yahoo Sports, do not include sub-division games, rankings, conferences,or news in their NCAA sections.
The NCAA Division 2 and Division 3 football championships have been nationally broadcast for several years now. USCHO.com includes complete schedules, scores, and rankings for NCAA DI and DIII men and women ice hockey on an equal basis. (There is no DII in college ice hockey). The NCAA itself maintains more-or-less equal web pages for all the divisions. For example - http://www.ncaa.com/sports/soccer-men/d3
At least in my area, there are plenty of FCS and lower division college football games on TV. The NCAA is all 3 divisions.