# United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy|  |
| Motto | Duty • Honor • Country |
| Type | U.S. Service Academy |
| Established | 16 March 1802 |
| Superintendent | LTG Darryl A. Williams USMA Class of 1983  |
| Dean | BG Cindy Jebb USMA Class of 1982 |
| Commandant | BG Steven Gilland USMA Class of 1990 |
| Academic staff | 580 |
| Students | 4,294 cadets |
| Location | West Point, New York, U.S. |
| Campus | Rural – 16,080 acres (6,507.3 ha) |
| Fight song | *On Brave Old Army Team* |
| Colors | Black and Gold |
| Nickname | Black Knights |
| Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division I – PL The American, AHA, CSFL, EIGL, EIWA |
| Mascot | Mule |
| Website | westpoint.edu |
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| United States Military Academy |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark |
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| Coordinates | ﻿ / ﻿ |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000562 |
| Significant dates |
| Added to NRHP | 1966 |
| Designated NHL | 19 December 1960 |
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The **United States Military Academy at West Point** (also known as West Point, USMA, Army (athletic teams)) is a university that teaches students to become officers in the US Army. Students are called "cadets" and are subject to military rules while studying subjects like engineering and military science for four years. For many years, West Point only taught men, but in 1976 West Point admitted its first female cadets. Women currently comprise approximately 15% of entering new cadets.

Military officers compose 75% of the faculty. Civilian professors make up the remaining 25% of faculty positions.

Congress formally authorized and funded West Point on 16 March 1802. West Point was so successful, that military academies were added later for the Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force.

West Point was originally a Fort. The Continental Army used it to guard the Hudson River. General Benedict Arnold tried to betray it.

## Sports

West Point has a very broad sports program. All of its students are required to compete in at least one sport, either at the intramural (i.e., within the school) or intercollegiate (i.e., against other schools) level, in every semester.

The Army intercollegiate sports teams are nicknamed "Black Knights". Most Army teams play in the Patriot League. The football team plays at the highest level, known as Division I FBS, in the American Athletic Conference. The men's ice hockey team plays in Atlantic Hockey America.

* Ambrose, Stephen (1966). *Duty, Honor, Country. A History of West Point*. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6293-0.
* Atkinson, Rick (1989). *The Long Gray Line*. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-48008-6.
* Barkalow, Carol (1990). *In the Men's House*. New York: Poseidon Press. ISBN 0-671-67312-2.
* Crackel, Theodore (1991). *The Illustrated History of West Point*. Boston: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-3458-2.
* Crackel, Theodore (2002). *West Point: A Bicentennial History*. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1160-6.
* Crowley, Robert; Guinzburg, Thomas (2002). *West Point: Two Centuries of Honor and Tradition*. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-53018-2.
* Endler, James (1998). *Other Leaders, Other Heros*. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-96369-1.
* Lea, Russell (2003). *The Long Green Line*. Haverford, PA: Infinity Publishing. ISBN 0-7414-1459-7.
* Lipsky, David (2003). *Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point*. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-09542-X.
* Hulse, Glenn (1994). *Bugle Notes, 86th Volume*. West Point, NY: Directorate of Cadet Activities.
* McMaster, R.K. (1951). *West Point's Contribution to Education*. El Paso, TX: McMath Printing Co.
* Miller, Rod (2002). *The Campus Guide: West Point US Military Academy*. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-56898-294-1.
* Murphy, Jr., Bill (2008). *In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point's Class of 2002*. New York: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 978-0-8050-8679-9.
* Neff, Casey (2007). *Bugle Notes: 99th Volume*. West Point, NY: Directorate of Cadet Activities.
* Palka, Eugene; Malinowski, Jon C. (2008). *Historic Photos of West Point*. Nashville, TN: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-59652-416-3.
* *West Point: Legend on the Hudson*. Montgomery, NY: Walden Printing. 2003. ISBN 0-9674209-1-1. `{{cite book}}`: `|work=` ignored (help)
* Simpson, Jeffrey (1982). *Officers and Gentlemen: Historic West Point in Photographs*. Tarrytown, NY: Sleepy Hollow Press. ISBN 0-912882-53-0.

## Other websites

* The Academy's official site
* Army Black Knights official site Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine