The 2007 and 2008 football schedule gained its first additions on Wednesday with a home and home matchup against Navy.
The Ball State University football team will travel to the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., on September 15, 2007, and return to Scheumann Stadium on September 6, 2008, for the match-up.
The meeting will be the second and third times the teams have played one another. Ball State defeated the Midshipmen in the 1991 season, 33-10, at Navy.
Navy provides a great gameday experience to its fans year after year. The pregame experience for Navy begins when the Brigade of Midshipmen march from the grounds of the Naval Academy to the stadium. Navy jets fly over the stadium after the National Anthem. Following the jets, the Navy SEAL Leap Frog Parachute team jumps from 30,000 feet in the air and floats to the ground while doing acrobatic stunts. Another tradition at Navy is the use of cannons to announce the start of the game and signify scores for Navy.
The Navy-Marine Corps Stadium will be full of blue as, traditionally, the stadium is full of loud and rowdy fans dressed in the school's colors.
Ball State journalism professor Robert Pritchard served the Navy before attending Ball State. He still follows the Midshipmen as well as the Cardinals.
"The Midshipmen were important when overseas, since they acted as a connection to home," Pritchard said. "They had gathering points at the bases with a big screen television, buffet, and it was a good time to connect with others."
This season, Navy has a record of 5-3, while Ball State has a record of 3-6. Navy takes on Notre Dame on Saturday and Ball State plays Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
"I am looking for the Ball State-Navy game to be a fairly even game since the talent levels are similar," Pritchard said. "I bleed Cardinal red and Navy blue and gold."
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