– Yard Gouge Spring 2024

Council of Class Presidents meeting, October 2023

Hello everyone! Please see the summarized notes from our Fall 2023 Council of Class Presidents meeting, held in Annapolis. Fondly, Denise

New Academic Dean and Provost is Dr. Samara L. Firebaugh—she comes from a Princeton and MIT background with great leadership experience
Summer training is back on track and in full-swing after several years of modified cruises
Men’s Rugby, National Champs and 8-0 after demolishing Air Force
Women’s Triathalon—36th Varsity sport—off to a great start
Men’s Cross Country dominated at West Point and brought home our first N star this fall
Renamed Facilities—Carter Hall (replaces Maury Hall) and Farragut House (replaces Buchanan House)

Farragut Seawall—deal with the rising sea levels that are increasingly occurring and threatening the longevity of USNA—approximately 2 and a half feet higher than the previous Sea Wall—first stage completion target is Summer ’24
Mahan Hall—front facade is completed and the tower portion remains under construction—completion target Summer ’24
MacDonough Hall—built in 1903 and not upgraded recently—renovations to be completed in 2025
Sherman Field area—main voltage cables for primary and redundant power and it is in fragile condition—replacing the cables across the field and under the water to Dewey and inward
YP Pier project—pier has been mended but still needs to be re-built

Won Rugby NCAA National Championship in our first Varsity season last year
Navy has 36 Varsity sports, the most among NCAA universities
Army to join the AAC (football only) and will remain in the Patriot League for other sports — we won’t play Army in football at all during the AAC regular season; and the Army Navy Game will be played following the Championship game of the AAC
Facility ambitions for the next capital campaign include: Greenbury Point, NMCMS, 19th Hole Grill, Lacrosse Center, Aquatics Center, and Max Bishop Stadium
Q: When will the North end zone be ready at NMCMS? A: goal is to begin in ‘24 and we would commence construction after the Military Bowl
Q: Is there a focus on sustainment funds for other sports besides football? A: Coaches are charged with coaching/teaching. Chet is committed to the fundraising mechanism, and he doesn’t count on the coaches to do fundraising. Chet does his best to bridge the gap with athletic excellence and all sports now have an athletic excellence fund. If donations are intended to be for a specific sport, then they should be specified for that sport by the donor.

Posted by Ingar Grev on behalf of Denise Willert on 3/28/23