Cage - maybe you can answer this. How do you commit to one of the service academies (especially as a 9th Grader) when you still need to prove grades, SAT/ACT, and get a nomination? I know the service academies have a separate athlete application review board but you still need certain benchmarks to get in and stay in. The congressional nomination is another story. I know a non-athlete who got admitted to WP but did not get a nomination and therefore did not attend. Any insight?
BOTC is not very familiar with the service academy process so we are offering more speculation than fact. We believe that a service academy commitment is an expression of interest from both sides that a roster spot is allocated to the student-athlete subject to all of the admissions requirements. BOTC is unaware of any athletic exemptions being available for admission to the service academies.
You are correct. Similar to the Ivies you typically see "committing to the admissions process." I can't say how Air Force works, but at Army the coach has a certain amount of slots each year, and both Army and Navy try to use the prep school as much as possible. I think 9th grade is pretty crazy for a service academy, maybe the kid comes from a military family, but the coaches have quite a bit of latitude as far as getting kids into the prep schools so even without much of an academic record I guess I can see that happening.
