NStar Articles

They are two of the most competitive colleges in the nation, especially when they go head-to-head on the football field. They both train civilians for the incredible pressures of leadership at the highest levels of the military. And they both have been doing so for more than 176 years. Yet despite these commonalities, the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) and the U.S. Military Academy (USMA or West Point), have their own unique attributes too. Let’s explore what makes the Naval Academy midshipman different from the West Point cadet.

Wow, what a game. While not the outcome we hoped for, we’d still like to extend a hearty congratulations to the winningest team in the Army-Navy 132 year-old football rivalry. The U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen left it all out on Lincoln Financial Field in their first overtime game in their 123 rivalry games. Even though they came up empty-handed on Saturday with an Army-Navy football game score of 20-17, they still boast a cumulative total against the West Point Black Knights of 62 wins to their 54 wins, with seven ties between them, an admirable record to be sure. Almost 70,000 fans watched the game from the stands, and they were joined by countless additional television viewers and others listening and streaming. The game joins a legendary list of other great “America’s Game” battles played over the course of history.

Rock climbing is a full body workout. Climbers must perform a carefully choreographed vertical dance to successfully scale a surface that’s oftentimes unpredictable and unreliable. It’s no wonder then, that midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy are drawn to this challenging sport. Throughout their career at Navy, midshipmen strive to accomplish the all-important physical mission despite the difficulties and impossibilities–and rock climbing is an excellent way to achieve that.