Navy, Maryland to Resume Football Rivalry In 2005
10/29/2002 7:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 29, 2002
By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland and Navy will end a 40-year gap in their once-contentious football rivalry by launching the 2005 season with a game in Baltimore.
The game Sept. 3 will be the first matchup between Maryland and Navy since the Midshipmen defeated the Terrapins 19-7 on Nov. 6, 1965.
At this point, there are no plans to make the meeting an annual event, the two schools said Tuesday at a press conference announcing the game.
The schools could receive up to $1.2 million apiece if the 69,000-seat stadium sells out.
"That money is critically important to us," said Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow, who anticipates spending $40 million on the program in 2005.
The payout was enticing enough to convince each to put aside the ill will that brought about an end to the rivalry years ago.
During the 1964 game at College Park, the teams got into a scuffle and a Maryland player made an obscene gesture in the direction of the Navy Corps.
The series then concluded - at least until 2005 - with Navy's victory in Annapolis the following year.
Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen, a freshman at Maryland in 1965, thinks it can be a great rivalry.
"I'm really looking for a rivalries for our program," he said. "I think West Virginia has turned into a rivalry and I think Virginia will be rivalry for us, but in-state rivalries always take on new meaning."
Yow said the deal ended eight years of negotiations between the schools.
"This game has been anticipated for years by many of the Terrapin faithful," Yow said.
Navy officials said they also were excited about the deal.
"We anticipate great interest in this game from the community and we fully expect it to be a sellout," athletic director Chet Gladchuk said. "This game, which will be an event for the entire state of Maryland, is a wonderful way to kick off the 2005 football season."
Yow said the Maryland and Navy fans will be given an equal number of seats for the game.
Because many college football schedules are filled years in advance, there is no guarantee that the teams will meet on an annual basis. Maryland had one open date in the 2005 season before filling it with Navy.
"Whether or not there would ever be any games to follow would be a totally separate negotiation," Yow said. "This is a single-game opportunity. If I were interested in the game, I would not miss this one."
Negotiations for the game involved Ravens owner Art Modell, who was delighted to host Maryland-Navy in Baltimore.
"This will be a big-time event for the community and the state," Modell said.
Friedgen said a neutral site is good.
"This is going to help Maryland football not only on a local level, but on a national level," he said.
Although the Terrapins appear to have the stronger program, Friedgen said he expects the Midshipmen to be vastly improved by 2005 under the guidance of former Georgia Southern coach Paul Johnson.
"I know Paul Johnson," said Friedgen, who came to Maryland after spending years as an assistant at Georgia Tech. "I know he'll do a good job there. He's an excellent football coach."
