VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- The Hampton Roads chapter of the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association is among the biggest in the country.
More that 3,300 Midshipmen alumni are members of the chapter and were able to hear from the head of their alma mater's athletic department Tuesday during the chapter's annual meeting at the Westin in Virginia Beach. Navy Director of Athletics Michael Kelly made the trip from Annapolis to serve as the keynote speaker for the event.
"I'm so honored to be here, to have just a huge population of Navy supporters in the big navy and obviously Naval Academy supporters here, to get a chance to share some of the great things that are happening on the yard right now and give them a good insight into all things regarding Naval Academy Athletics," Kelly told News 3.
Kelly spoke about the recent success of Midshipmen sports and discussed some upcoming facility enhancements at the Annapolis campus. He also referenced how the programs have navigated the new college landscape with NIL and the transfer portal.
"I think a lot of people thought 'oh my gosh, how is Navy going to compete?,'" he noted. "In football, we've just come off the most successful back-to-back years in the 145 year history of Navy football."
With the high navy population in Hampton Roads and close proximity of Old Dominion, many Midshipmen alumni have expressed the hope that the two football programs can square off on the gridiron. Kelly says that's been discussed recently, but it all comes down to scheduling ability.
"It's something that does make sense from the great navy community we have here," Kelly said. "The reality is it depends on our schedule because we're definitely going to stay true to our Army match-up, our Air Force match-up and our Notre Dame match-up, so that really only gives us one game a year to schedule."
The Hampton Roads chapter of the USNA Alumni Association holds multiple events per year, including football watch parties, outings and fundraisers.
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