March 28, 2013
Take a tour of West Point
ARMY
Location: West Point, N.Y., less than 50 miles north of New York City, on the banks of the Hudson River
Nickname: Black Knights
Colors: Black & Gold
Year founded: 1802
Enrollment: Approximately 4,600 (all undergraduate)
Faculty: Approximately 650
U.S. News & World Report America's Best Colleges rank (2013): 18th
Tuition: Tuition is free, fully funded by the U.S. Army in exchange for a minimum five-year active duty service obligation upon graduation
Academics: The United States Military Academy at West Point (USMA), also known as West Point, or just Army, is one of the most selective colleges in the country. In addition to outstanding academic credentials, applicants must be nominated by a member of congress just to apply. Less than 10 percent of applicants are admitted each year. West Point offers young men and women a highly regarded college education in four complementary programs - academic, military, physical, and moral-ethical. Everything cadets experience during their 47 months at West Point is focused on developing them as educated leaders of character who, upon graduation, will serve at least five years on active duty while serving as commissioned officers in the U.S. Army. The student-faculty ratio at United States Military Academy is 8:1, and the school has 93.8 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors include: Engineering; Social Sciences; Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; and Engineering Technologies and Engineering-Related Fields. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 92.8 percent. Graduates earn a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army.
Notable alumni: Heisman Trophy winners Glenn Woodward Davis (‘47), Doc Blanchard (‘47) and Pete Dawkins (’59). World War II generals Douglas MacArthur (‘03) George S. Patton (‘09) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower (‘15). Civil War Generals William Tecumseh Sherman (1840), Robert E. Lee (1854) and President Ulysses S. Grant (1843).
Athletics: 24 teams (15 men, 9 women)
Athletic achievement: Army’s football team won national championships in 1944, 1945 and 1946. In 1946 and 47, grid iron greats Glen Woodward Davis and Doc Blanchard, nicknamed ”Mr. Inside” and “Mr. Outside” won the Heisman Trophy in back-to-back years. Davis won the trophy in 1946, Blanchard in 1947. Pete Dawkins also won the Heisman for the Black Knights in 1958.
In addition to its storied football history, Army has a rich lacrosse tradition. Prior to the NCAA era, Army won national championships in men’s lacrosse in 1923, 1944, 1945, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1969.
Trivia: In 1780, as commander of the fortifications at West Point, Benedict Arnold committed his infamous act of treason by attempting to surrender the fort to the British in exchange for money and a commission in the British Army.
NCAA Appearances by Sport
Baseball: 1997 (play-in game), 2000, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012
Football: 1944, 1945, 1946
Men’s Cross Country: 1949, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1978, 1986, 1996, 1998 2007
Men’s Golf Team:1960, 1967, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012
Individuals golfers: 1939, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984
Men’s Gymnastics: 1979, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012
Men’s Lacrosse: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010
Men’s Rifle: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 207, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Men’s Tennis: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2011
Men’s Track & Field: 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
Wrestling: 1953, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1986, 1987, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013
Women’s Basketball: (Division II) 1984, 1988 (Division I) 2006
Women’s Cross Country: (as members of Division II) 1983, 1986
Women’s Soccer: 2008, 2011
Women’s Track & Field: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
Softball: 2000, 2002
Volleyball: 2009
National Championships
Football: Football: 1944, 1945, 1946
Men’s Lacrosse: Pre-NCAA Era Champions: 1923, 1944, 1945, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1969
Men’s Rifle: 2005
Head to Head vs. BU
Men’s Basketball: BU is 9 and 6 vs. Army. The Terriers won the last meeting, 103-83, in 1994.
Football: 1-10. BU won the last meeting, 21-12 in 1994
Men’s Golf: 0-2. Army won 6-0, in 1927
Men’s Hockey: 31-4-2. BU won, 8-1, Jan. 2, 1993.
Men’s Soccer: 3-1-0, BU won 1-0 on Aug. 31, 2001
Men’s Tennis: 2-5. Army won 7-0 on March 1, 2013
Men’s Wrestling: 4-7. Army won, 22-18, on Feb. 10, 2013
Women’s Basketball: 3-0. BU won, 72-62, on Jan. 19, 1982
Women’s Soccer 1-0. BU won, 4-1 on Sept. 14, 1996.
Softball: 0-2. Army won, 6-4, in 1990.
More Army Trivia: West Point was the first school in the U.S. to use rings as a class symbol
Visiting West Point
At more than 200 years old, West Point is the nation's oldest and foremost military academy and also the oldest continually used military post in the U.S. Its campus is still the most popular attraction in the entire Hudson Valley, but West Point is no longer as visitor-friendly as it once was due to heightened security concerns. Visitors were once free to roam the campus among the cadets but today the only way to visit is by organized 1- or 2-hour seasonal tour on a bus. The tour makes stops at the famous Cadet Chapel, which possesses stained-glass windows that were gifts of graduating classes and the largest church organ in the world, with more than 21,000 pipes; the Cadet Cemetery; and Trophy Point, where cannons captured from five wars are gathered in remembrance.
The massive campus with its Gothic Revival buildings perched on the west side above the Hudson River, is a spectacle to behold, in and of itself, especially in fall. One of the most popular attraction for visitors is the West Point Museum which houses the oldest and largest collection of war memorabilia and war trophies in the U.S. Visitors can see an atomic bomb, the cannon that fired the first American shot in World War I and uniforms and artifacts that trace the history of warfare.
The Village of Highland Falls, N.Y. is located just outside the gates of West Point and is a mecca for tourism. Highland Falls is bounded on north and west by the academy, on the east by the Hudson River and the south by the hamlet of Fort Montgomery. Its main street area is the home to many shops museums, restaurants and bars. For nature enthusiasts, nearby Bear Mountain State Park, Harriman State Park, Palisades Interstate Park and Crows Nest have ample area for hiking, cycling, kayaking, cross-country skiing and ice skating.
SOURCE: The United States Military Academy at West Point www.GoArmysports.com, www.USMA.edu and US News & World Report.
