Player Bio: Mike Schofield - NAVY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Mike Schofield

	Position: Head Coach
	Experience: 24th season
	Alma Mater (Yr.): Pittsburgh (1979)

Mike Schofield returns for his 24th season at the helm of the Navy water polo program. Under his direction, the Mids have won eight Eastern Championships and competed in 13 NCAA Tournaments. Sixteen Navy athletes have earned All-America honors under Schofield.

Last year's team compiled a 30-6 record, setting a school record for wins in a season. The Mids won their eighth Eastern title and finished third at the NCAA Championship, also a program best. Navy went 19-1 for the second straight year against Eastern teams and boasted a school-record 19-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament. The 30 wins kept a remarkably consistent streak in tact, as the Navy water polo program has won at least 19 games in all 26 years since the program's resurrection in 1982.

For his efforts, Schofield was named the 2007 Eastern Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

Two years ago, the team amassed a 24-7 record and won the program's seventh Eastern Championship. The 24 wins were tied for the seventh most in school history and Navy went 19-1 against teams from the East. The Mids also won 14 games in a row from Sept. 27 to Nov. 12, the fourth-longest streak in school history.

Schofield has had a long line of All-American athletes under his guidance. In 2007, Aaron Recko and Mike Mulvey received second-team and honorable mention accolades, respectively, running the All-American total to 23. It marked the ninth straight year that a Navy water polo player was named All-American, beginning with Jason Pace (HM) in 1999. Sean Foster (2nd) and Nick Hill (HM) followed up Pace's honor in 2000. Hill was named honorable mention twice more in 2001 and 2002. In 2003, Joe Donahue was a third-team selection. Following Donahue, Patrick Rollo and Alex Ratcliffe were third-team selections in 2004 and 2005. Recko and George Naughton were named to the team in 2006.

The Mids also succeed in the classroom. Led by Eric Gardiner's 4.00 GPA, one of six players nationally to record a 4.00, 10 Navy players were honored by the Collegiate Water Polo Association as having a 3.20 GPA or better. Gardiner earned a prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship, was named first-team CoSIDA All-American (at-large team) and was a Marshall Scholarship recipient.

Schofield is well recognized in the water polo community, having also coached on the international level, guiding the U.S. Water Polo Team at the 1997 World University Games to a fifth-place finish. He also served as an assistant for the 1992 National Team and as an assistant for the U.S. Water Polo Team that won gold medals at the World University Games in both 1991 and 1993.

The Midshipmen compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), which consists of 19 schools divided into northern and southern divisions. The southern division has been dominated by Navy, as it has won 11-of-15 divisional titles since 1993. Navy owns a 46-4 record in the CWPA Southern Tournament.

Schofield also directs the Naval Academy Aquatic Club, which produces some of the top young water polo players and swimmers in the country, many of whom have continued their careers at the Naval Academy.

Schofield graduated from Pittsburgh in 1979, where he was the captain of the water polo team and received most valuable player recognition. In 1982, Schofield arrived in Annapolis and assisted in resurrecting a water polo program that had been dormant for 32 years. He took over the head coaching duties in 1985, and his teams have enjoyed 16 20-plus win seasons, playing to an overall record of 511-196. Schofield has been named Eastern Coach of the Year eight times including last season (1982, 1984, 1986, 1990, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007). In 2004, Schofield added National Coach of the Year to his resume, and in March of 2004 was inducted into the United States Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Mike, his wife, Gina, and their sons, Kevin (14) and Matthew (10), reside in Arnold, Md.

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