Secretaries Cup

Secretaries Cup
2016 game action
SportFootball
Teams
First meetingOctober 15, 1949
75 years ago
Coast Guard, 21–14[1]: 34 
Latest meetingNovember 11, 2023
Merchant Marine, 39–27
Next meetingNovember 16, 2024
StadiumsBrooks Stadium (Kings Point) and Cadet Memorial Field (Coast Guard)
TrophySecretaries Cup
Statistics
Meetings total52
All-time seriesMerchant Marine leads, 37–15[1]: 34 [2]
Largest victoryMerchant Marine, 42–0 (1992)[1]: 34 
Longest win streakMerchant Marine, 7 (1965–1978)
Current win streakMerchant Marine, 5
Locations of Coast Guard and Merchant Marine

The Secretaries Cup is an annual college football game in the northeast United States between the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.[3] Both academies compete in NCAA Division III athletics.[4]

The Secretaries Cup is an intense rivalry game for both schools.[5] Though less well known than the Army–Navy Game,The Secretaries Cup is often described as a small-college version of that matchup.[6][7] In fact, as a precursor to the Army–Navy Game, a win by Coast Guard is heralded as a good omen for a Navy victory against Army.

The two campuses are at opposite ends of Long Island Sound. The game alternates between the Coast Guard's Cadet Memorial Field in New London, Connecticut, and the Merchant Marine's Captain Tomb Field in Kings Point, New York just east of New York City.

The game had been played on the last Saturday of the Division III football regular season (generally mid-November) from 1991 through 2005. When the Coast Guard Academy joined the New England Football Conference in 2006, the rivalry became a non-conference game and was moved to September. In 2017, the game moved back to November when the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) began sponsoring football with both teams as conference members.

  1. ^ a b c "2015 Coast Guard Football Media Guide" (PDF). US Coast Guard Academy. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  2. ^ "Bears Fall 14-3 in Secretaries' Cup Battle". Coast Guard Bears. September 12, 2015.
  3. ^ http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/11/annual-secretaries-cup-football-game-u-s-coast-guard-academy-u-s-merchant-marine-academy-carried-espn-network/ Annual “Secretaries Cup” Football Game Between U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy To Be Carried on an ESPN Network Derek Volner
  4. ^ Hale, David M. (November 15, 2020). "A mind-boggling Big Ten, QB drama and fake spikes are all we needed in Week 11". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Fulkerson, Vickie (September 8, 2011). "Nothing rivals CGA-Kings Point football matchup". The Day. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  6. ^ David Helvarg (2009). Rescue Warriors: The U.S. Coast Guard, America's Forgotten Heroes. St. Martin's Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-4299-8953-4.
  7. ^ Montgomery, Bob (October 17, 2012). "Sports Insider: Vitrano with Coast Guard". The Bristol Press. Retrieved 2016-08-24.