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| Merchant Marine athletics photo |
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy intend to keep their Secretaries' Cup rivalry alive in 2020 as the archrivals will keep their original Nov. 14 date in Kings Point, New York.
In addition to football, the schools are meeting in women's volleyball and men's soccer.
"This decision was arrived at following close examination of our current safety protocols and a commitment to follow NCAA guidance with regard to testing and other resocialization of sport standards," said Coast Guard athletic director Dan Rose.
"This is extremely exciting news for our student-athletes, coaches, fans and the entire Academy community," said USMMA athletic director Kristofer Schnatz. "The health and safety of our Midshipmen have always been of the utmost importance throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic, and our campus has been working hard to maintain a healthy "bubble" for several months, isolating our community to the best of our ability."
The two academies will closely follow the NCAA's Resocialization of Collegiate Sports guidelines in the weeks leading up to the contests, including testing strategies for each athletic activity, and the appropriate use of face coverings and social distancing during training and competition.
The Mariners hold a 26-13 lead in the series since the Cup was first awarded in 1981. Since Mike Toop, a 1977 grad of Kings Point, took over the program in 2005, USMMA has gone 11-4 against Coast Guard, including a 56-41 victory up in New London in 2019 – the most points ever in the history of the rivalry game. Merchant Marine has won 15 of the past 20.
For Bears coach, C.C. Grant, this will be his first opportunity as a head coach in the game. Grant takes over from longtime head coach Bill George after having spent 21 years as an assistant coach. "I'm just thankful that our seniors get to play at least one game this year and to have it be against the Merchant Marine Academy makes it all the more special."
Toop concurred: "It's great for both institutions, especially for the first classmen (seniors) at both places to get to play a game this year. I'm just really happy that the guys have an opportunity, and what better opponent to play than your archrival?"
Toop had much more to say on the In The Huddle podcast.