College Sports

The tradition started in 1981 and Andrew Bacilek wouldn’t let tough logistics get in the way of continuing it.

By Emma Healy, The Boston Globe

December 8, 2023

Andrew Bacilek agreed to the challenge before he knew just how difficult it would be.

When he was a Naval Academy junior, Bacilek was named the executive officer of the 13th Company’s 2022 ball run, an annual event when Navy undergraduates run a game ball from the Naval Academy to the site of the Army-Navy football game. His position meant that he was in line to be the commander the following year and would be responsible for planning and coordinating the 2023 ball run.

Little did he know that the 2023 Army-Navy game would be played at Gillette Stadium, and Bacilek would have to figure out how nearly 200 members of his company would run 458 miles from Annapolis, Md., to Foxborough — the longest ball run in history.

“They said the game’s going to be in Foxborough, and I was like, ‘It can’t be that much different. It can’t be that bad,’” Bacilek said. “Man, was I wrong.”

The logistics, which Bacilek has been planning since January, are dizzying. Bacilek, 21, and his team of seven other midshipmen coordinated with state and local law enforcement agencies across seven states, set up four overnight shelter locations in community centers and fire stations, mapped out the nearly 500-mile route, and divided a team of 194 current and former members of the 13th Company into relay-style teams that would run segments of 8-12 miles over four days.

Bacilek and his company began the run at 8 a.m. Tuesday and project to finish around 5 a.m. Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The runners of the final leg will have about 10 hours to regroup before the scheduled 3 p.m. kickoff.

Ninety of the 123 prior Army-Navy games were staged in Philadelphia, with East Rutherford, N.J.; Baltimore; and Landover, Md., hosting periodically over the past four decades. Though this year’s run is longer and the logistics are trickier than ever, Bacilek was determined to keep the 42-year tradition alive.

The ball run began in 1981 when Lt. Col. Clay Noto took over as the commander of the 13th Company and proposed the idea as a way to build company spirit. They’ve run the ball to nearly every Army-Navy game since, with the exception of the 1983 edition, which was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and would have required a run of nearly 3,000 miles.

“When I was told this year that it was going to be in Boston, there were a lot of questions of, ‘Are we able to do this?’ ‘Is this going to be possible?’ And I was like, ‘I’m not gonna have my year be the one year aside from California that it didn’t happen,’” Bacilek said. “So we got to work right away, me and my staff, and we made it happen.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the run was slightly behind its goal pace, and Bacilek was working to get his company back on track. He instructed the runners to pick up their speed, and he made sure police officers had cleared traffic at upcoming stops to make the transition between legs easier.

“It’s definitely been a nightmare at times, but it’s been far more rewarding than anything I could have ever imagined,” Bacilek said.

The Naval Academy has its final exams next week, adding another wrinkle to the planning process. Many midshipmen had classes this week that they couldn’t miss, so Bacilek had to coordinate transportation back and forth between Annapolis and the run route. The professors at the Academy, he said, have been overwhelmingly supportive.

“Because of just how big Army-Navy is, everybody at the Academy is completely understanding,” Bacilek said. “We’re doing something for the brigade, and this is an event that everybody looks forward to and loves supporting — both alumni and our classmates. … It’s a very whole-community kind of event that everybody’s very understanding of and excited that we’re able to do.”

The Army marathon team will also run a game ball from West Point, N.Y., to the game, a distance of about 185 miles.

Navy leads the football series, 64-62-7, but Army has won five of the last seven, including last year. Both teams are 5-6 this season.