How a federal policy changes the future of service academy athletes
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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer
ON MARCH 13, scouts from 18 NFL teams traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the Air Force Academy pro day. The event has never been a high-priority stop for talent evaluators ahead of the draft, but this time, there was an elevated sense of importance.
Part of that was obvious: Over the past three seasons, Air Force has the ninth-best winning percentage in FBS college football (.744) and the second-best mark among Group of 5 teams. And scouts were eager to see the talented players who made up such a winning program.
Another part was almost ceremonial. The academies will likely still hold NFL pro days next year, but they won’t function the same way given none of the graduating seniors will be eligible to play right away. As things sit, this will be the last year the United States government will permit service academy players — those at Army, Navy and Air Force — to jump directly from college to professional sports. Next year, athletes will be required to serve two years in the military — as had been a long-established process until 2019 — before having the option to pursue professional sports, while completing the rest of their service commitment in the reserves.
“Two years being away from the game is a tremendous setback,” said Chet Gladchuk, who has served as Navy’s athletic director since 2001. “We don’t guarantee anyone that they’re going to make the pros or that they’re going to get a tryout. But if you’ve got a young man coming up the ranks here and develops and realizes, ‘I’m good enough,’ why shouldn’t he get to take that shot?”
The ever-changing policy has been the subject of debate over the past several years, especially since December 2022, when a passage in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) stated a “cadet may not obtain employment, including as a professional athlete, until after completing the cadet’s commissioned service obligation.”
It created an uproar because, at the time, Army linebacker Andre Carter II was projected as a possible first-round NFL draft pick, and it gave the impression the rug had been pulled out from under him. The response was impactful. Legislators moved quickly to adjust the language, grandfathering in those who arrived at service academies in 2019 or earlier, thereby paving the way for football players to be eligible for the 2023 and 2024 NFL drafts.
But why have the rule at all? It’s something athletic department officials at all three service academies have struggled to find a good answer for and, uniformly, believe goes against the best interests of the United States military.
“It’s important to keep in mind that none of them would lose or shake their obligation to serve [if they went directly to the NFL]. It’s not like you’re letting them off the hook,” Gladchuk said. “Every one of them would still have to serve at one point or another.”
GROWING UP IN suburban Chicago, Bo Richter never really gave much thought about joining the military. It wasn’t until he was approached by an Air Force assistant at a camp at Northwestern that it even entered his consciousness — and then he was dismissive.
“I said to my mom, ‘It’s pretty cool, the Air Force Academy,'” Richter said. “I would never go there, but that’s awesome.
“Then we got the whole spiel, and we started figuring out what it was all about. Great academics, great football. It ended up being the best option for me.”
Richter wasn’t a recruit who fielded much Power 5 interest. He didn’t start playing football in high school until his junior year and — other than Air Force — was primarily sought after by schools in the Ivy League, MAC and FCS going into his senior year. For a recruit of his profile, the NFL didn’t factor into his decision in the slightest. He was more concerned about where he could go to prepare for a career in business.
His path is a typical one for a service academy player. Rarely do any of the three land a recruit with Power 5 offers; instead, they focus more on somewhat under-the-radar types with strong academic profiles.
“You’re trying to identify somebody that’s an exceptionally strong student that has the maturity and the character and the leadership qualities and someone you think can be a good Division I football player,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “They’re hard to find. We literally recruit the whole country. We have all five time zones on our team just because we have pretty unique people.
“First thing on the transcript: Is there pre-calculus? Is there chemistry? We’re still [standardized-]test-mandatory. The sheer candor of what’s involved to how you’re going to serve, you’re 22 years old and you’re going to serve on active duty. That’s hard to find.”
This is not Calhoun complaining. This is him laying out the reality of what has been — and will always be — needed to fill a roster at a service academy. For him, players such as Richter and Trey Taylor, the 2023 Jim Thorpe Award winner, will always be the model for continued success: guys who needed to develop before growing into team leaders by the back ends of their careers.
Taylor and Richter are both viewed as possible late-round picks who will surely be signed as free agents if they go undrafted. They were among the six Air Force players who worked out in front of NFL scouts.
At pro day, Richter’s development was on full display. His 40-inch vertical jump and 26 reps on the bench would have ranked No. 1 among all linebackers at the combine; his broad jump of 10 feet, 4 inches would have been tied for third; and he ran a consensus 4.56 in the 40-yard dash despite pulling a hamstring on his first and only attempt. And during the season, he had incredible production, finishing with 19.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
“Playing at the professional level is something that was a dream that I had no idea how realistic it was going to be until I got to this point,” said Richter, who was not a highly recruited high school player. “And now it looks like it’s a realistic one.”
After all, there are only six service academy players on active NFL rosters.
Richter plans on taking football as far as he can, but also spoke proudly of the assignment that awaits him as a commissioner officer working as a financial manager at Eglin Air Force Base whenever that time comes.
For Calhoun, others that come along in that mold — who come in unheralded before developing into potential NFL players — should also be given the opportunity to see how far football can take them.
THE NDAA FOR fiscal year 2024 was approved by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in December and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Dec. 22.
Tucked deep in that bill was the call for the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the committees on armed services of the Senate and the House of Representatives by March 1. The report would include a legislative proposal to “update and clarify the legislative framework related to the ability of Service Academy graduates to pursue employment as a professional athlete prior to serving at least five years on active duty; and retain the existing requirement that all Service Academy graduates must serve for two years on active duty before affiliating with the reserves to pursue employment as a professional athlete.”
It also required a report that included every service academy graduate released or deferred from active service to participate in professional sports and a description of their career progress.
Spokespersons for the committees on armed services of the Senate and the House of Representatives did not reply to multiple messages from ESPN seeking copies of the reports and inquiring about the professional sports pathway for service academy graduates. A Department of Defense spokesperson declined to make anyone available for comment.
“It would’ve been nice if the athletic directors were engaged in the thought process a little bit more,” Gladchuk said. “It was pretty much handled at a level that was well above our influence.”
DURING THE SEASON, before the NDAA was finalized, Calhoun held out hope there would be another reversal, paving the way for players to head directly to the NFL.
On the possibility of keeping the two-year service term before attempting to go pro, Calhoun said, “Candidly, I think that would be a mistake for our country.”
Navy coach Brian Newberry is in a similar boat.
“It’s frustrating,” Newberry said. “A lot of players that we recruit, they’re not delusional about their ability to play in the NFL, but there’s certainly a large amount of kids that we recruit that have those ambitions and at least want the opportunity if it presents itself.”
It might be easy to write that off as a football coach looking for a competitive advantage, and while that is certainly part of it, there’s more to it.
“I don’t understand it. I think, for a lot of reasons, it would actually be good for the academies [to send players to the NFL],” Newberry said. “If, by chance, we have a player that can play in the NFL, what a great marketing tool for the academies and for the military. What great ambassadors they would be, and what you get out of that side of it far outweighs the deferment of their service.
“To me, it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I hear the arguments on both sides, but I just think that the argument on the other side is uninformed.”
That argument boils down to this: When someone is admitted to a service academy, their military obligation is all that matters. The academies don’t exist to develop professional athletes.
After the two-year service period was reinstated in 2022, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., issued a statement in support of the reversal.
“While I wish all service academy athletes who wish to go pro the best, the fact is U.S. military service academies exist to produce warfighters, not professional athletes,” he said. “By enrolling in one of these institutions, they took a spot from one of the thousands of other highly qualified Americans whose dream was to attend a service academy and serve their country in uniform.”
But to those on the campuses, that stance lacks nuance and implies these athletes are attempting to circumvent their service obligation, something that has never been on the table. They believe giving football players an NFL runway straight out of school actually functions as an extension of their military commitment.
Take Carter, for example. Even though his draft stock slipped and he ended up going undrafted, he still signed with the Minnesota Vikings last year and appeared in 12 games as a rookie. For the duration of his NFL career, he’ll carry significant value as a marketing asset for West Point and the U.S. Army.
Consider this: Last month, the Army released its 2025 fiscal year budget overview that called for a 10% increase to its recruiting and advertising budget, bringing it to $1.1 billion.
“Andre Carter’s best opportunity to help the Army’s recruiting is for him to lead the league in sacks as a Minnesota Viking,” said Mike Buddie, the athletic director at West Point. “If you win a Rhodes Scholarship, we pause your military responsibility and let you pursue the Rhodes Scholarship because that’s the best use of your skills. I view professional athletes very similarly to medical school and to Rhodes Scholarships. Especially with the fact that they’ve all agreed and they all understand that the minute that their professional sports career is over, their five-year clock starts ticking.”
And at that point, they’ve been around a professional setting and are, perhaps, more prepared to serve as a commission officer.
Added Newberry: “The amount of kids that actually have that opportunity [to play in the NFL] is so minuscule that I don’t think it impacts what the academies’ missions are in the long term.
“They’re not trying to get out of their service. I think that’s the most important thing to understand, is these kids come here, they choose to serve, they want to serve. But that window for them is so small, so to require a two-year delay just makes no sense.”
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper was highly critical of two goalie interference calls that went against his team in its Game 5 loss to the Florida Panthers, which eliminated the Lightning from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Monday night.
“This is clearly a turning point in the game. If anyone’s going to talk about this game, they’re going to talk about the goals that were taken away,” Cooper said after the 6-1 loss to Florida, a score inflated by two empty-net goals by the Panthers.
The first goalie interference review was a coach’s challenge initiated by Florida at 13 minutes of the first period. Video review determined that Tampa Bay’s Anthony Duclair impaired Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky‘s ability to play his position in the crease prior to Anthony Cirelli‘s goal.
Cooper felt that Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling was holding Duclair on the play.
“You saw our reaction. It’s just one of those … it’s very frustrating,” Duclair said. “I always have a ref screaming in my ear. I thought I was out of the blue paint. When you look at the video, I was clearly out of there. It is what it is, it’s a judgment call.”
The second goalie interference play happened at 17:48 of the second period, as a goal was immediately waved off when the officials said Cirelli made incidental contact with Bobrovsky while battling defenseman Niko Mikkola. Tampa Bay challenged the call, but it was upheld on video review.
“Obviously, it sucks. But it’s our job to go out there and keep battling and trying to get the next one. When you think you have a goal and it goes the other way, you get down a little bit. But it doesn’t matter. You go out there and keep playing,” Cirelli said.
Cooper felt that Bobrovsky embellished on the play.
“I’ll give the goalie credit. He completely quit on the play. Didn’t see it, flailed and maybe there’s incidental contact at most. But now we have to challenge it because they saw the reaction from the goaltender,” Cooper said. “Bob’s doing the right thing. He duped them. So be it. But we have to make that challenge.”
Cooper felt the spirit of the goalie interference rule wasn’t violated by either play.
“In this league, goals are at a premium. All we’ve done is make the rules for more goal scoring. Every year it seems like there’s something that we tweak so there’s more goal scoring. That’s great. But there’s mandates. The words were to pull a goal off the board, it has to be unbelievably egregious. That’s the standard,” he said.
Cooper also felt that both plays were indicative of the officials overprotecting goaltenders during battles in front of the net.
“Are net-front battles not allowed anymore? That’s part of everybody’s game. The boxing out that goes there is like prison rules in the playoffs. But it’s not prison rules for the goalie? We might as well put skirts on them then, if that’s how it’s going to be,” he said. “They have to battle through stuff too. It’s a war down there. I think we’re letting the goalies off the hook. And they have way more pads on than everybody else does.”
Cooper reiterated that he didn’t believe the calls cost the Lightning the series, but that they did change the momentum in the game.
“This is just my opinion, I felt it was a little unfair. In the playoffs, how do you let those slide,” he asked.
The Panthers won the series 4-1 and advanced to face the winner of the Boston Bruins–Toronto Maple Leafs series. The Bruins hold a 3-1 lead in that series, potentially setting up a rematch of last season’s epic first-round upset by Florida in seven games.
For the Lightning, the loss begins a critical offseason for the franchise. That includes the future of 34-year-old star captain Steven Stamkos, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer. He had 40 goals in 79 games this season for Tampa Bay, his 16th with the franchise.
“That never crossed my mind. I’m out there trying to help my team win. Regardless, we’re trying to score. There’s a lot of pride on the line,” said Stamkos, who waited near the tunnel to the dressing room to greet every Lightning player as they left the ice after the game.
Cooper downplayed the fact that Stamkos might have played his last game with the Lightning.
“I don’t know if there will be much conversation. I hope not, anyway. He belongs here. We know it. He knows it,” the coach said. “He and I have grown up together. He’s a heck of a player. He’s in control of his own destiny. I don’t know what’s going to happen. He feels like a Bolt for life, but only he and [GM Julien BriseBois] can answer that one.”
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
TORONTO — Auston Matthews‘ status is “yet to be determined” for the Maple Leafs when they try to stave off elimination in Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Boston on Tuesday.
Matthews has been battling an illness that he was able to play through in Game 3 and the first two periods of Game 4 on Saturday. Toronto’s team doctors ultimately pulled Matthews from the third period of Saturday’s 4-2 Leafs’ loss, which put the Leafs down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Toronto’s top center did not practice with the team Monday but was expected be on the trip to Boston. A decision will be made at some point before Game 5 whether Matthews is healthy enough to play.
“Of course, we’re hopeful that he’s available and feeling good and back to himself,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “That’s what we’re hopeful for. But we’ve played well with guys out in the past. We started the series without [William Nylander] and had to deal with that. But we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Matthews has one goal and three points in the series, including Toronto’s game winner in Game 2. The illness has kept Matthews from being a full participant in all but one of the Leafs’ on-ice sessions since then as they’ve tried to get him healed. Keefe said Sunday that the issue is how this sickness has “lingered” and becomes worse when Matthews exerts himself in a game.
Given that Matthews was unable to finish out Game 4, Toronto practiced Monday as if he wouldn’t be in the lineup. Max Domi took over Matthews’ spot centering the top line with Mitch Marner and Tyler Bertuzzi, while Nylander moved up to the second line with John Tavares and Matthew Knies. Domi also worked on the Leafs’ top power-play unit at practice, a special teams sore spot for Toronto in the series at just 1-for-11.
Matthews is coming off a tremendous regular season where he notched 69 goals and earned a third Rocket Richard Trophy in four years as the league’s top goal scorer. Though his postseason production has slowed, his absence would create a void and teammates are resigned to forging ahead without him if needed.
“It’s not ideal to be without Auston Matthews,” Tavares said. “You’re talking about one of the best players in the world. But there’s tremendous depth, talent and character on this team and it’s a great opportunity for all of us to step up, raise our game, which is already needed and necessary.”
Keefe slotted Domi onto the top line when Matthews exited Saturday and the third period was the Leafs’ best of the night (although they already trailed Boston 3-0 going into that frame). It was an “easy decision” for Keefe to put Domi back there and allow the veteran to try to ignite more offense from linemate Marner (who has just assists in the series).
“[Domi’s] played center for us a lot this season,” Keefe said. “He’s done well with Mitch, he’s done well when we’ve had guys out, whether it was Auston or John, when they’ve been out Max has played in that spot and he’s done a nice job for us. He’s a very versatile guy, he can do different things and play different positions and with different types of players.”
The Leafs’ coach was less forthcoming about who would be between the pipes for Toronto in Game 5. Ilya Samsonov started all four games, but Keefe pulled him in favor of Joseph Woll for the third period in Game 4 after Samsonov gave up three goals on 16 shots, including a dagger from David Pastrnak in the final minute of the second. Woll made five saves in relief of Samsonov.
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Keefe’s responded when asked who would get the call in net. But he also stressed the importance of balancing the scales against Boston with better netminding and special teams than Toronto has showed in the series. The Bruins are 6-for-13 on the power play and Jeremy Swayman — who has started three of the four outings for Boston — has a .956 SV% and 1.34 GAA to go with his 3-0-0 record. Linus Ullmark started Game 2 in the Bruins’ lone loss.
“They’ve had the edge in those areas in the series and that’s tough to overcome. We got to take steps there,” Keefe said. “Getting more saves at critical times is a big part of that. They’re obviously getting lots at the other end.”
Boston also practiced Monday, but without captain Brad Marchand or Danton Heinen. Coach Jim Montgomery said both players took maintenance days. Injured forward Justin Brazeau and defenseman Derek Forbort are also “an option” for the Bruins in Game 5 but Montgomery acknowledged some concern in possibly putting Forbort in midway through a series after he’d been sidelined since March 2 with a pair of ailments.
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
The Seattle Kraken have fired head coach Dave Hakstol after three seasons, the team announced Monday.
Hakstol, who was the first coach in the Kraken’s short history, was dismissed after the team failed to make the playoffs after finishing with 100 points and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals last season.
The club on Monday also announced that assistant coach Paul McFarland would not return next season.
“I thank Dave for his hard work and dedication to the Kraken franchise,” general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “Following our end-of-the-season review, we have decided to make a change at our head coach position. These decisions are never easy, but we feel that this is a necessary step to help ensure our team continues to improve and evolve.
“Dave is a good coach and a terrific person. We wish him and his family all the best. We will begin our search for the Kraken’s next head coach immediately.”
Francis had hinted that changes could be made less than a week after the season ended.
Hakstol, who went 107-112-27 with the franchise, becomes the second NHL coach to be fired this offseason after the San Jose Sharks moved on from David Quinn last week.
There were questions about the Kraken’s decision in June 2021 to hire Hakstol, the former Philadelphia Flyers coach who had been an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Those questions remained during Seattle’s inaugural season, when the team went 27-49-6 and won the fourth pick in the NHL draft lottery, which was used on Kingston Frontenacs center Shane Wright, who at one time was projected to go first in his draft class.
Hakstol’s second season drew more praise than criticism. The Kraken became arguably the league’s biggest surprise, winning 46 games and reaching the 100-point mark — a turnaround of 40 points from the previous season — before advancing to the conference semifinal round and losing to the Dallas Stars.
It also led to Hakstol being one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which is given to the head coach that has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” He also was rewarded with an extension through the 2025-26 season.
“We had a real good season last year, went probably better than we expected and our staff did a good job and they got rewarded for it,” Francis said. “This season didn’t go as well as we had hoped and then you got to look at things and try and make decisions at the end of the season. That’s where we ended up at this point.”
Part of the Kraken’s success stemmed from finishing second in team shooting percentage — with a success rate of 11.6% — and tying for fourth in goals per game.
Questions again surfaced after Seattle opened this season with four straight losses before another eight-game slide from late November into early December, but the club went on a 13-game points streak that saw them win nine in a row, including a win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in the Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park on New Year’s Day.
The offense, which buoyed them with consistency in 2022-23, led to them capsizing in 2023-24 — the Kraken went 13-16-3 after the All-Star break — as they finished 18th on the power play and 29th in both shooting percentage and goals scored.
Ultimately, those offensive struggles — along with a run of inconsistent performances — led to the Kraken finishing 34-35-13 and 17 points behind the Golden Knights for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
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