The Navy Midshipmen football team has represented the United States Naval Academy in intercollegiate college football since 1879. The team participated as an independent school for the majority of its existence, but joined the American Athletic Conference (formerly the Big East Conference) as an expansion team in 2015.[1][2] The Midshipmen joined the NCAA Division I-A when it was created in 1978, becoming one of the first independent schools in that division. The program has had 37 head coaches, one interim coach, and two separate periods where it went without a coach since its formation.[3] Ken Niumatalolo served as head coach of the Midshipmen from 2007[4] to the end of the 2022 season, when he was let go immediately after losing to Army to close out a 4-8 season.[5]
The academy adopted the nickname "Midshipmen" for its students when it was founded in 1845. Between 1870 and 1902, the school tried out a number of different ideas, before Congress restored the name "Midshipmen" as the academy's nickname.[6][7] The term has been accepted since.[8] The Midshipmen have played in over 1200 games during the program's 133 seasons (through the 2015 regular season). In those seasons, seven coaches have led the Midshipmen to postseason bowl games, ten have been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and one, Bill Ingram, has led the school to a recognized national championship.[3]
Vaulx Carter, the program's first coach, is the all-time leader in win percentage, with a perfect 1.000.[NOTE 1][NOTE 2] Of coaches who have served in more than one game, Gil Dobie has the highest win percentage with .850 after completing a record of 17–3. George Sauer has the lowest win percentage of any non-interim coach, amassing a percentage of .222 and a record of 3–13–2. Ken Niumatalolo overtook George Welsh's 55 wins in 2014, for the most games won at Navy, and his 9 seasons in 2017 for the most seasons coached at Navy. In 2014, Niumatalolo overtook Paul Johnson, his predecessor, for the most bowl games coached, with seven,[NOTE 3] and most bowl games won (3).[3][10]
Key
| GC | Games coached |
| OW | Wins |
| OL | Losses |
| OT | Ties[NOTE 6] |
| O% | Winning percentage[NOTE 2] |
| PW | Wins |
| PL | Losses |
| PT | Ties |
Coaches
| No. | Name | Term | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | PW | PL | PT | BG | NC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | No coach | 1879 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1 | Vaulx Carter | 1882 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| N/A | No coach | 1883–91 | 40 | 23 | 15 | 2 | .600 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2 | Ben Crosby | 1892 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 3 | John A. Hartwell | 1893 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 4 | William Wurtenburg | 1894 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | .714 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 5 | Matthew McClung | 1895 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 6 | Johnny Poe | 1896 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 7 | Bill Armstrong | 1897–99 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 0 | .800 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 8 | Garrett Cochran†[15] | 1900 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 9 | Doc Hillebrand†[16] | 1901–02 | 21 | 8 | 11 | 2 | .429 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 10 | Burr Chamberlain | 1903 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | .375 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 11 | Paul Dashiell | 1904–06 | 34 | 25 | 5 | 4 | .794 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 12 | Joe Reeves | 1907 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | .792 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 13 | Frank Berrien | 1908–10 | 29 | 21 | 5 | 3 | .776 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 14 | Douglas Legate Howard | 1911–14 | 36 | 25 | 7 | 4 | .750 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 15 | Jonas Ingram†[17] | 1915–16 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 2 | .526 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Gil Dobie†[18] | 1917–19 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | .850 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Bob Folwell | 1920–24 | 38 | 24 | 12 | 2 | .658 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 – 1924 Rose Bowl | 0 |
| 18 | Jack Owsley | 1925 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | .688 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Bill Ingram†[19] | 1926–30 | 49 | 32 | 13 | 4 | .694 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 – 1926 |
| 20 | Rip Miller†[20] | 1931–33 | 29 | 12 | 15 | 2 | .448 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Tom Hamilton†[21] | 1934–36, 1946–47 | 45 | 21 | 23 | 1 | .478 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Hank Hardwick | 1937–38 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | .528 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Swede Larson | 1939–41 | 27 | 16 | 8 | 3 | .648 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Billick Whelchel | 1942–43 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | .722 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Oscar Hagberg | 1944–45 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | .750 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | George Sauer†[22] | 1948–49 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Eddie Erdelatz | 1950–58 | 84 | 50 | 26 | 8 | .643 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 – 1955 Sugar Bowl, 1958 Cotton Bowl | 0 |
| 28 | Wayne Hardin†[23] | 1959–64 | 62 | 38 | 22 | 2 | .629 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 – 1961 Orange Bowl, 1964 Cotton Bowl | 0 |
| 29 | Bill Elias | 1965–68 | 40 | 15 | 22 | 3 | .413 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Rick Forzano | 1969–72 | 43 | 10 | 33 | 0 | .233 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | George Welsh†[24] | 1973–81 | 102 | 55 | 46 | 1 | .544 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 – 1978 Holiday Bowl, 1980 Garden State Bowl, 1981 Liberty Bowl | 0 |
| 32 | Gary Tranquill | 1982–86 | 55 | 20 | 34 | 1 | .373 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Elliot Uzelac | 1987–89 | 33 | 8 | 25 | 0 | .242 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | George Chaump | 1990–94 | 55 | 14 | 41 | 0 | .255 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Charlie Weatherbie [NOTE 8] | 1995–2001 | 75 | 30 | 45 | 0 | .400 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 – 1996 Aloha Bowl | 0 |
| Int | Rick Lantz [NOTE 8] | 2001 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | .000 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Paul Johnson [NOTE 3] | 2002–07 | 74 | 45 | 29 | — | .608 | 2 | 2 | — | 5 – 2003 Houston Bowl, 2004 Emerald Bowl, 2005 Poinsettia Bowl, 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl, 2007 Poinsettia Bowl | 0 |
| 37 | Ken Niumatalolo [NOTE 3] | 2007–22 | 192 | 109 | 83 | — | .568 | 6 | 5 | — | 11 – [NOTE 9] | 0 |
| 38 | Brian Newberry | 2023–present | 12 | 5 | 7 | — | .417 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
Footnotes
References
General
- Naval Academy Athletic Association (2012). "Navy Bowl Game History" (PDF). 2012 Navy Midshipmen Football Media Guide. United States Naval Academy Athletics. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- Naval Academy Athletic Association (2005). "Navy: Football History" (PDF). 2005 Navy Midshipmen Football Media Guide. United States Naval Academy Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- "Navy Coaching Records". Navy History. College Football Data Warehouse. 2013. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
Notes