Every September, the midshipmen leadership makes an announcement to the Naval ROTC inviting all those who are interested to join the Naval ROTC basketball team. Everyone who wants to play is accepted, but players are divided up by skill level, according to two-season veteran Sergeant Adam Bradford, 25, a junior physical education major from Riverside, Calif.
The team then practices in preparation for its first tournament at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Ma. Practices are held Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings during the Naval Battalion’s PT, two and a half weeks prior to the tournament.
Fifteen midshipmen, one Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP) and two faculty members made up the two Naval ROTC basketball teams that participated in the Military Excellence Competition (MEC) held at the College of the Holy Cross on Saturday, Oct. 3. Games are played all day Saturday, between other team events such as swimming, Drill, Color Guard and Warrior Challenges.
Lt. Guy Batchelder, naval science instructor of the NROTC Unit, is a veteran on the team. “I’ve done three of them total. All of them at Holy Cross. One in 2007, one last year and one this past weekend,” Lt. Batchelder said.
Lt. Matthew Mariano, naval science instructor of the NROTC Unit, participated for the first time this year. “I think the best part of this whole thing is just the chance for these students to see what other ROTC students do at other schools and getting a chance to interact.”
The tournament also allows other schools to learn about Norwich. “I think it’s really good that we do it. It gets Norwich’s name out there, especially when we win the whole challenge. It shows that we are serious about what we do,” Sgt. Bradford said.
Military colleges across the country hold tournaments like MEC, yet financial support to sponsor the Naval ROTC for these team building events is low. Including meals and entrance fees for the basketball team to participate, the NROTC spent around $450, according to Lt. Batchelder.
“I think the NROTC would love to do more of them, just the biggest thing is the money because it’s so expensive,” Lt. Batchelder said.
To save on costs, the team slept at the Field House on the College of the Holy Cross’s campus the Friday night before the tournament. Most teams choose this option since it saves the unit money.
To fund extracurricular activities such as the basketball tournament at Holy Cross, the Naval ROTC raises money through bake sales, auctions, and working the Tunbridge Fair.
The team brought a van down but was only able to transport scholarship midshipmen because of “liability reasons,” Lt. Batchelder said. “A lot of people took their own personal vehicles and carpooled down.”
Lt. Batchelder and Lt. Mariano agreed that Norwich would benefit from hosting its own Military Excellence Competition.
“It would give us a chance to show other schools and students what we do differently here at Norwich,” Lt. Mariano said. Hosting a MEC would also provide a source of funding for the NAVAL ROTC as well as Norwich University and teach students the importance of leadership.