The Midshipmen participate in the NCAA's
Division I-A as an independent in football and in the Patriot League in
many other sports. The football team competes with the other academies
for the Commander in Chief's Trophy and plays in the Army-Navy Game. The
Navy Lacrosse team has won 17 National Championships and was Runner-Up
in 2004. The mascot is a goat named 'Bill.'
Participation in athletics is mandatory at the Naval Academy and most
Midshipmen not on an intercollegiate team must participate actively in
intramural sports.
Midshipmen also have the opportunity to participate in a broad range of
extracurricular activities including musical performance groups (Drum &
Bugle Corps, Men's Glee Club, Women's Glee Club, Gospel Choir, an annual
musical, and even a bagpipe band, the Pipes & Drums), religious
organizations, academic honor societies, Campus Girl Scouts, the
National Eagle Scout Association, a radio station, Navy and Marine Corps
professional activities (diving, flying, seamanship, and the Semper
Fidelis Society for future Marines), and a broad range of non-NCAA club
sports including rugby, hockey, and karate. Fencing, once one of the
most successful sports at the Academy before being disbanded in the
early 1990s, has been gaining popularity and success recently as a
competitive club.
There is even an unofficial (but previous National Champion) croquet
team. Legend has it that several years ago a Mid and Johnnie (slang for
a student enrolled at St. John's College, Annapolis), were in a bar and
the Mid challenged the Johnnie by stating that Midshipmen could beat St.
John's at any sport. The St. John's student selected the sport of
croquet. Since then, thousands attend the annual croquet match between
St. John's College and the 28th Company[1] of the Brigade of Midshipmen
(originally the 34th Company before the Brigade was reduced to 30
companies). In April of 2005, Navy won the match against the National
Champion St. John's team. As of 2005,[2] the Midshipmen had a record of
5 wins and 18 losses to the St John's team.
