Couple of personnel things courtesy Sal. Larry Dixon is practicing... albeit on defense. The Navy/Army game is a special event for these players and for a guy like Dixon to contribute and experience the game as a senior is important.
It's been closed practices which points to some other question marks in terms of personnel. Angel Santiago wants to cut it loose in the season finale.
Sal has some other interesting personnel news, so be sure to click on over.
Mike over at The Bird Dog cuts to the bone with his assessment of Army football's struggles.
The reason for this difference is simple: money. Because NAAA is a 501(c)(3) corporation and not funded by the government, it isn’t subject to the same government regulations when it comes to fundraising. Army and Air Force are organized differently. While their coaches are not paid with taxpayer money, they are paid with government money through the Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentalities set up to support their athletic departments (both Army and Air Force coaches are technically government contractors). NAFI fundraising is more restrictive than what Navy is able to do. Navy simply has more money to pay ADs and coaches, so on average, they hire better ones.
Is it money that keeps Navy's fire lit? Certainly there is something to the disparity in coaches pay between the academies.
Ken Niumatalolo Navy $1,650,000
Troy Calhoun Air Force $900,000
Rich Ellerson Army $600,000
...and that is just the head coaches' salaries. I don't have salary figures for the assistant coaches, but if you are pleased with Army's position coaches at this point of the Ellerson regime please make your presence known in the comments.
Is the difference recruiting? Is it athletic administration and a disparity of competence? Is the real problem a question of stability in that head coaching spot? All of these factors mix together and no matter how you slice it, Navy has done a better job in each of these realms and the net effect is an 11 year win streak for Navy with things not looking particularly good to break the streak.
Get over to the Bird Dog and read what Mike says, it's pretty much a must-read. You will have a tough time refuting his ideas on Army's struggles.
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