The final days of February are upon us…and we’ve already won the Star Series against Army. A great weekend for Men’s and Women’s Basketball up in scenic Highland Falls resulted in two Star wins. With those wins, both teams clinched the regular season Patriot League titles and clinched the Star Series for Navy. Sing Second!! We also just got back from a little record-breaking Roadshow in Tennessee. We talk about that. And we have two amazing interviews. Iron Mike Steadman is making it out there in the entrepreneur space. Want a Ted Talk? Mike gives it. From helping to launch the USNA Entrepreneurs Group (who just held an amazing event at the FAC this past week) to being a Brigade Boxing Champ, Mike has stories. You want to hear them. ANd we chat with Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao ‘96. The Under dishes on his time as a Mid and the Navy & Marine Corps the Class of 2026 is about to join. That and more on the best Alumni Association podcast there is. Beat Army. Always.

The final days of February are upon us…and we’ve already won the Star Series against Army. A great weekend for Men’s and Women’s Basketball up in scenic Highland Falls resulted in two Star wins. With those wins, both teams clinched the regular season Patriot League titles and clinched the Star Series for Navy. Sing Second!! We also just got back from a little record-breaking Roadshow in Tennessee. We talk about that. And we have two amazing interviews. Iron Mike Steadman is making it out there in the entrepreneur space. Want a Ted Talk? Mike gives it. From helping to launch the USNA Entrepreneurs Group (who just held an amazing event at the FAC this past week) to being a Brigade Boxing Champ, Mike has stories. You want to hear them. ANd we chat with Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao ‘96. The Under dishes on his time as a Mid and the Navy & Marine Corps the Class of 2026 is about to join. That and more on the best Alumni Association podcast there is. Beat Army. Always.

February keeps marching on. The snow and ice are melting…a little…and Lacrosse is back! The pod marches on this week with a great live pod from the Fluegel Alumni Center, where on Feb 13 we welcomed dozens of Navy Women’s Lacrosse friends, family and alums to help the ladies kickoff their home season. Bill Wagner joined John Schofield, head coach Cindy Timchal and Women’s Lax Alum Cynthia Lisa ‘00. We chat about the coming season and how the Fluegel Alumni Center has become a great home base to connect with our athletes, alums and parents. We also chat about the Commissioning 101 event that took place at the FAC Saturday…another great investment in our Naval Academy and the parents as we deliver the gouge about Commissioning Week to hundreds of parents from the Class of 2026. In addition to the briefings, we had more than a dozen vendors in the building for an Expo. One of those vendors is Made Plus. Want to hear more about the amazing N* shoe? Listen to the interview and check out Made Plus. That and more on the best Alumni Association podcast there is. Beat Army. Always.

Special pod drop! What sort of coaches are on Michael Kelly's radar to lead the young athletes of the Naval Academy? The very best, obviously. Navy shook the Etch-A-Sketch and hit a homer with a major league hire for Men's Soccer. After a coaching career that was marked by success developing championship-caliber players with the U.S. Soccer men’s and youth national teams as well as at the MLS, MLS NEXT Pro, USL and Division I levels, John Hackworth became just the seventh head coach in the 105-year history of the Navy men’s soccer program Dec. 5th, 2025. We sit down with the new head man to chat about his goals, expectations and his plan to engage the Soccer Alumni. We talk big names "Hack" has coached through the years. DeMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan...and David Beckham! Don't worry, there wasn't enough time in the interview for some extensive Manchester United talk, but we have a great conversation about how and why the legendary coach chose to come to Annapolis. Let's just say that having a chance to develop the future leaders of America was too good to pass up. Coming back for the Men's Soccer Reunion weekend April 10-11? You should. Coach Hack and program need your support. Enjoy the Pod. Go Navy! Beat Army!

February marches on and announces itself with authority here on Super Bowl Weekend. Pats v Seahawks? Yawn. We're talking about FOUR STAR MATCHUPS this weekend with Navy battling Army in Rifle, Indoor Track and Field (Women & Men) and Gymnastics. We chat about the new Atlas Restaurant opening in the old Stevens Hardware building - Admiral's Cup. ANd we have an AMAZING interview with Cam Kinley '21. Circle this interview, people. Bookmark it and send it to your friends. Cam Kinley has it figured out. He talks about his playing days a little, being Class President during the 2021 COVID ROM year, putting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform and why he serves now on the Board of Trustees. Cam talks about leadership, giving back and whether politics might be in his future.That and more on the best Alumni Association podcast there is. Beat Army. Always.

Welcome to February and the thick of the dark ages. Chris and John preview one of the Naval Academy’s signature events, Thursday’s Ship Selection Night from Alumni Hall. We also talk about the recent snow storm here in Annapolis that made those dark ages a little darker. And we preview a big weekend for Rifle, Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field and Gymnastics as they compete for the Star against Army. And this week’s alumni feature is with Karla Murphy ‘12. Karla reps the Eastern North Carolina Chapter, and after a discussion with John at their Founder’s Day Dinner in the fall…a conversation started. Karla is a former Marine, and now an entrepreneur, an executive coach and the author of a new book: Be One of Zero: Why the Obsessed Always Win, A Leadership Operating System to Upgrade the Founder & the Business. Karla talks about leadership and introduces a leadership operating system for founders and executives who want to scale without sacrificing their health, relationships, or sanity. A great conversation about making that transition out of uniform and making a difference on your own path. Learn more about Karla and her company at https://foundersforge.pro/ and check out her book here. That and more on the best Alumni Association podcast there is. Beat Army. Always.

The first hard copy of the Magazine for 2026! Just in time to get you through the dark ages. Emily Lucht, John Schofield and Jimmy DeButts bring you the best Alumni magazine in the business in audio form. The Jan/Feb issue hits mailboxes next week, but here is your sneak peak and your behind-the-scenes access to how the stories are written, the context behind the content and a little more explanation of how said content arrives in your mailbox every two months. In this issue we discuss an amazing gift from the Volgenau '55 family, Service Selection for the class of 2026 and even Tom Selleck! Our 50 years of women series continues with stories about the "admission rush" and other great vignettes. We have a great conversation with Michael Kelly and we hear from a CH-53E pilot. That and more as we bring you a preview of a great issue of Shipmate!

The last full week of January was marked by some great stuff. Chris joined John in Annapolis for the Army-Navy Basketball doubleheader at Alumni Hall. Chris and John break down a great day from Pod Sponsor Dry 85 in Annapolis. We also chat more about our South Carolina roadshows (they just wrapped up) and other great updates from AA&F. Our feature interview this week is with Jim Petersen '76. Jim has stories!! And he's a published author. Jim's books connect directly to themes important to today’s midshipmen and alumni: decision-making under uncertainty, leading with integrity, navigating misinformation, personal growth, and building teams that thrive under pressure. These insights draw from his Naval Academy experience, his career as a Navy Captain (Ret.), and his current work as CEO of Diversified Professional Coaching. And we finish off our interview series with our candidates in the Eastern and Central regions. Caleb Cronic ‘11 and Scott Herbener '87 introduce themselves to the alumni and talk about why they are running to Be trustees. That and more on America’s best Alumni Association Podcast. Beat Army.

A special Sing Second Podcast for your Annapolis snowday. Before the skies opened and the temps dropped, the Alumni Association & Foundation joined the USNA Women Shared Interest Group in celebrating a new display at Historic Annapolis in downtown celebrating the journey of USNA Women in words and photographs. Dozens of alumni joined AA&F President & CEO Jeff Webb ‘95 in hearing from USNA Women SIG leadership and Historic Annapolis museum curators about the important bond between the Naval Academy and the city of Annapolis over 50 years since women arrived for I-Day. Sing Second’s John Schofield interviewed Linda Postenrieder ‘82, Allison Webster Giddings ‘84 and Historic Annapolis’ Elizabeth Cox about the exhibit and the ceremony.

Week 3 of 2026, and we are hitting our stride. Chris and John talk a little about their Live Sheehy Lexus pod with Bill Wagner, the coaches from NAAA and Longtime USNA and AA&F supporter Paul LaRochelle. We also chat about the official end to the College Football season (Congrats, Indiana) and how Navy will remain relevant in this landscape as a football program and as an institution. Our alumni interview is a special conversation about entrepreneurship. Rob Johnston ‘08 has a simple LinkedIn profile title - “Technology Entrepreneur.” But he’s so much more than that. We discuss his origins at USNA, his time in the Marine Corps and how he made it big in the Cyber space. And we continue our interview series with our candidates in the Eastern and Central regions. Jen Tyll ‘01 is running in the Eastern region. Jeff Griffen ‘04 is running in the Central. Get to know them on the pod. That and more on America’s best Alumni Association Podcast. Beat Army.