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U.S. Service Academies' Change To Postgrad Service Requirement Could Help Recruiting

Last spring when student-athletes at U.S. service academies learned they were no longer bound to a minimum "two-year postgrad active duty requirement," it created the chance for a policy shift that "could enhance service academy recruitment and the military's brand in general," according to Andrew Lawrence of SI. The new policy states that "any academy athlete can now turn pro immediately, his or her two years of active duty replaced by eight to 10 years in the reserves." But "not everyone is cheering this play -- which has stoked fears, among the academies' traditionalists of a larger takeover by the jockocracy." U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus noted that this new exemption "isn't confined to athletes." For Ravens WR Keenan Reynolds, who played QB at Navy, "taking the golden ticket is a no-brainer." It was also an easy call for WNBA free agent and Army alum Kelsey Minato, whose league compensation was "modest," but "nonetheless competitive for 3 1/2 month's work." In MLS, salaries generally "start out at about $50,000 a year" and for Minnesota United D Joe Greenspan, that is "only a little above his Navy pay grade." There are also times when Greenspan "can't help but feel guilty." Greenspan: "It weighs on me. Why do I get to play a game for a living right now? Yeah, I'm still serving in the reserves, but it's not the same as my classmates and my teammates on active duty." Former NFLer Caleb Campbell, who attended West Point, said of the abandonment of the postgrad rule, "For us to continue to have the maximum influence (as an institution), I think it's pivotal that we are able to recruit better athletes" (SI, 1/23 issue). 

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