Navy coach says frustrations over Trophymisplaced

Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo apologized for blaming Pentagon officials for the fact there will be a Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy series in 2020.

Niumatalolo maintained his stance that moving forward with the round-robin service academyseriesunder the current circumstances makes no sense and sullies the meaning of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, but admitted his frustrations were misplaced.

“I should not have said some of the stuff I said and I’m sorry I did,” Niumatalolo told The Capital onMonday night. “The Pentagon has nothing to do with this and it waswrong ofmeto suggest that was the case. I was just frustrated and let my emotions get the best of me.”

“The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is our program’s No. 1 goal every year and we put our heart and soul into getting it back lastyear,” Niumataloloadded.

NiumatalolocontactedThe Capital unsolicited after having time to contemplate his comments that were made off-the-cuff during an online news conference Monday afternoon. Asked about the announcementmadeearlier in the day that Air Forcewas moving forwardwith playing ArmyandNavy, the 13th-year head coach reacted angrily.

Niumatalolo repeatedly said the decision was made by “guys at the Pentagon” and questioned their qualifications for doing so.

In hindsight, Niumatalolo regrettedcommentingonthe issue at all.

“I sometimes get myself in trouble by speaking my mind. This was an instance when I should have keptmy thoughts tomyself,” he said.

At issue is the fact Air Force is not playing an official football season in 2020. The MountainWest Conference, of which Air Force is a member, announced in August it was postponing fall semester sports.

Plans are for the Mountain West Conference football season to be held during the spring semester. By all accounts, Air Force head coach TroyCalhoun is pointing his program toward the spring.

Citing multiple sources, TheColoradoSpringsGazette reported this past weekend that as many as 40 Air Force football players have applied for administrative “turnbacks.” That is a term for a policy created to give Air Force cadets facing personal hardship an opportunity to separate from the academy for a semester.