A NEWSLETTER FROMFrom THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ATheCADEMY FOUNDATION Bridge2012 ISSUE 2 Athletic Excellence: Physical Mission On and Off the Field avy athletic director Chet deep support system for Navy athletics NGladchuk has witnessed the has propelled the Mids to the success Midshipmen rise from the bottom to the that underscores the Academy’s top of the playing field, and that matters commitment to its physical mission. dearly to the Academy and its alumni. One of the strong threads in Under Gladchuk’s leadership, the that support system is the Fund for Naval Academy, once a non-factor in Athletic Excellence. much of the Patriot League, became the Unlike the charitable donations he importance of athletics at the Naval cream of its crop in 2012 by winning that are targeted to benefit specific TAcademy is evident every day in the lives the league’s President’s Cup for the first sports or projects at the school, the of midshipmen. The Naval Academy Athletic time. That award goes to the school with donations to the athletic excellence Association manages 33 varsity sports, oversees the highest cumulative sports points fund cover a wide area of common 14 club sports, a host of intramural opportunities total among its varsity athletic programs ground at Navy. The fund allows the and a four-year physical education curriculum. competing in the conference. Naval Academy Athletic Association The physical mission has long been one And Gladchuk, who oversees 33 (NAAA)—which administers varsity of the defining traits of the Naval Academy, as evidenced by the emphasis on sports participation. varsity sports, knows how much the athletics, intramural sports and the Nearly every midshipman is an athlete at Navy, where 92 percent of this year’s plebe class played at least one varsity sport in high school. All of which makes the fundraising efforts of the Naval Academy Foundation that much more critical to Navy’s success. To that end, the Foundation is hoping to expand the important Fund for Athletic Excellence from its current level of about $1.5 million to more than $2 million a year, as the cost of maintaining the Academy’s high level of performance continues to grow. The Fund for Athletic Excellence, which benefits varsity sports and non-varsity sports alike as short-term needs arise, helps to compensate coaches, fund athletic facility improvements and offers critical operational support to Navy athletics. To all of those who have contributed or plan to contribute to this vital fund, the Foundation extends its sincere gratitude and appreciation. Go Navy! ■ Chet Gladchuk, Navy athletic director Back-to-back Patriot League Championships for women’s basketball. Congratulations! Continued on page 2 291 Wood Road • Annapolis, MD 21402 410.295.4100 • www.usna.com Athletic Excellence Athletic Excellence… continued from page 1 Brand New Boathouse Academy’s 14 club sports—to maintain we’ve hired in recent years, like [men’s a “margin of excellence” by addressing soccer coach] Dave Brandt and urgent needs that arise in various [women’s basketball coach] Stefanie programs throughout the year. Pemper, I’m not sure they could Those needs range from coaches’ have relocated to Annapolis without compensation, to team travel costs, the help we receive from the athletic recruiting budget enhancements, excellence fund.” equipment replacement, nutritional Navy baseball coach Paul supplements, operational support Kostacopoulos, who has won 182 and upgrades to the Academy’s games in six seasons in Annapolis and athletic facilities. led the Midshipmen to the National Hubbard Hall Rededication. “There are so many needs and Collegiate Athletic Association requests that can pop up at any time, tournament in 2012, said the fund has hen-Midshipman Matt Fluhr ’12 and the Fund for Athletic Excellence helped defray the cost of the team’s Tgraduated from the Naval Academy in has become a central component of annual trip to Florida. It has also paid May, and over the four years he spent as an our ability to advance the athletics for such additions as free weights and a oarsman for the Midshipmen, Fluhr witnessed program,” said Gladchuk, who works hitting simulator in the team’s hitting the home of Navy crew literally transformed. with margin of excellence funds and pitching facility at Terwilliger Hubbard Hall, the home base for the totaling about $1.5 million annually. Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. school’s 140-year-old rowing program, was a “As coaches approach me with “These are the kinds of things you useful albeit outdated structure when Fluhr legitimate needs, I allocate the funds need at this level to compete. Our arrived on campus in the summer of 2008. to help them. You can see how it has budgets are very fair, but sometimes worked. The results are tangible.” there is a little extra piece you need to By the time he graduated, Hubbard was one For example, Gladchuk cited how make you better,” said Kostacopoulos, of the jewels of the Yard. the acquisition of hi-tech swimsuits who added that the Fund for Athletic Thanks to a publicly-funded $18 million helped the Navy men’s and women’s Excellence ideally reflects the reconstruction project that overhauled the teams win last year’s Patriot League importance of athletic success in the three-story building located on Dorsey Creek, Championships. That helped Navy’s school’s physical mission. the school’s proud rowing program has arrived entire athletic department, which was “Sports are a proving ground for in the 21st century. Hubbard now boasts a list at the bottom of the league nearly a the future leaders we’re coaching. of amenities that accommodates about 200 decade ago, and elevated them to You’re going to have challenges and rowers representing the Academy’s heavyweight, second place in the President’s Cup disappointments and get kicked in the lightweight and women’s teams. Hubbard race in the previous five years, to win gut. Sometimes you’ve got to go to has a new floating docking system provided the Cup last spring with 121.75 points. Plan B,” he said. “There is no excuse through a generous gift from General William “Those suits became a necessary not to perform and do the best you can. “Bill” Anders ’53, USAF (Ret.). In recognition tool for the swim teams, and they cost You’ve got to find the answers.You’ve of his gift, the rowing tank was named in us about $25,000 to outfit the team. got to keep your expectations high.” honor of Colonel Robert Detweiler, USAF We had them delivered within about a In that spirit, the NAAA and the (Ret.), a member of The Great Eight, Navy’s week after ordering them,” Gladchuk Naval Academy Foundation have ’52 Olympic gold medal crew. And, private said. “Clearly, those suits had a enhanced the Fund for Athletic gifts to the Navy Crew Excellence Fund will psychological benefit, and they helped Excellence with new benefits and our swimmers with their times. That recognition levels. In addition to the Continued on page 3 was a sudden and necessary cost.” President’s Circle ($2,500+) and “It might be something as small as Friends of Navy Athletics ($25,000) Editor’s note From The Bridge is published periodically by the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni replacing a six-man blocking sled with levels, donors can now be recognized at Association and Foundation. an eight-man sled for the football team the Fleet Club ($5,000+) or Rip Miller © 2012, USNA Alumni Association and Foundation. Portions of this publication may be reproduced with the permission of the Communications Office, USNA Alumni during the season,” he added. “Or it Society ($15,000+) levels as well. Association and Foundation. To suggest articles or provide feedback, please contact us at [email protected]. could be a bigger expense such as By way of benefits, annual Athletic Visit us on the web at www.usna.com. coaches’ compensation. Some people Excellence contributions of $5,000 or 2 From the Bridge, 2012 Issue 2 Class Giving Athletic Excellence Battle Names Updated Continued from page 2 ensure the commitment to crew. Generous hen describing Navy-Marine private gifts are critical to maintaining WCorps Memorial Stadium, it’s equipment and the spaces enabling Navy often said that it is a memorial first and to compete with the best rowing programs a stadium second. Members of the Class in the nation and abroad. of ’66 took that to heart in their class “[Hubbard] was completely functional gift to update the battle names on the when I got here. But you could tell the teams façade of the stadium seating areas. were getting too big for what we had there,” As part of their charge, the Naval Byron Marchant '78, president & CEO of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and said Ensign Fluhr, a newly-commissioned Academy Memorial Oversight Foundation; Chet Gladchuk, athletic director; surface warfare officer. “We knew [as Committee, chaired by Admiral Bruce CDR Mike Baird ’66, USN (Ret.); VADM Michael Miller ’74, USN, superintendent; and Dr. Bruce incoming plebes] the new boathouse was DeMars ’57, USN (Ret.), took on the Bickel ’66 at the unveiling of the plaque coming. We started with the old and ended task of maintenance and review of the commemorating the Class of ’66 gift at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. with the new, and it’s pretty amazing.” memorials at the stadium. They, in The revitalized Hubbard Hall sits on the turn, asked the Naval Historical Society same space it occupied in 1930, when the to review and reconcile the original Thierry, Belleau Wood, Pearl Harbor, facility opened and was designed to handle battle names on the façade with official Wake, Java Sea, Coral Sea, Aleutians, Navy’s lone men’s rowing team of 40 Navy and Marine Corps campaign/ Midway, Guadalcanal, Savo Island, members.