Do you think the Army football team would be better if they held tryouts or recruited from within the ranks like other All Army sports?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:24:48 -0400

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Sep 25 at 2015 10:30 AM

SCPO David Lockwood — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:30:03 -0400

If you are talking about within Westpoint then yes. I believe that the team has to be a student at the Academy to be eligible along with other criteria.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Sep 25 at 2015 10:30 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:30:10 -0400

It's a product of the College Rules. You technically need to be attending West Point to have eligibility to compete on the team.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Sep 25 at 2015 10:35 AM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:35:16 -0400

SFC Private RallyPoint Member - The Army football team is comprised of Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Any player would have to first be admitted to the Academy to play.

It is true that West Point (as do the other service academies) recruits student athletes and has a special path for appointment and acceptance, but the potential cadets/players still have to meet the admission standards.

Army enlisted personnel have the ability to apply for an appointment to West Point and compete for slots on the team. There is a procedure for doing that, which also includes spending a year at West Point Prep (or, at least, it used to).

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Sep 25 at 2015 10:42 AM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:42:46 -0400

SFC Private RallyPoint Member Any service academy is limited by their own high standards. I am not saying that as a bad thing. Simply put, the service academies are prestigious schools. They have very stringent guidelines for acceptance. This limits their ability to recruit athletes. The NCAA has additional eligibility requirements and limitations on participation in inter-collegiate athletics. While I would agree that Army and Navy could both field stronger teams if they recruited from their active duty ranks, I think that the NCAA would frown on it.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Sep 25 at 2015 10:44 AM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:44:25 -0400

SFC Private RallyPoint Member as a follow up, here is a link to the NCAA Eligibility Requirements.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Quick_Reference_Sheet.pdf

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Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 25 at 2015 10:52 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:52:48 -0400

The "Army" Team is really the West Point Academy team. As others have stated the entrance requirements at the military academies are very high. While inter collegiate sports are important they are secondary to producing top grade military officers.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Sep 25 at 2015 2:55 PM

SN Greg Wright — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 14:55:50 -0400

SFC Private RallyPoint Member The only way the Army football team would be better is if they joined the Naval Academy.

*runs*

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Sep 25 at 2015 4:47 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 16:47:56 -0400

SFC Private RallyPoint Member Yes, they would be better off but an appointment to a service academy is difficult to obtain

Response by SSG James Yellis made Sep 26 at 2015 12:31 PM

SSG James Yellis — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 12:31:35 -0400

Im a die hard Army Football fan. I only can about them winning 2 games a yr (Air Force and Navy)

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 28 at 2015 9:28 PM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 21:28:18 -0400

They should hold tryouts and give scholarships to soldiers

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2016 3:59 PM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 15:59:34 -0500

They might be better, but they wouldn't be cadets. The purpose of college is to get an education. Many of our state and private colleges ignore the education part for student-athletes. They are concerned with winning games and making money. The service academies are about the last true holdout for student-athletes.