Navy Coach Brian Newberry Gets Taste of Home Facing Oklahoma Sooners

The Navy Midshipmen head coach has plenty of connections with the state of Oklahoma as he prepares his team for the Sooners.

Nov 18, 2023; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Brian Newberry looks on from the sideline during the third quarter against the East Carolina Pirates at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Like most football fans, Brian Newberry can tell you the first football game we ever went to. In an odd twist for the Navy football coach, his first football game as a fan just happened to be in Oklahoma Sooners game.

He will lead the Midshipmen (9-3) into the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday against Oklahoma (6-6), the team he grew up cheering for as a kid.

Growing up in Oklahoma, Newberry got a taste of what it's like to be a football fan of one of the game's most well-heeled programs.

He was living in Oklahoma City and OU’s campus, in Norman, was just an hour and a half south.

Newberry picked a great time to be a Sooners fan, too. Back in 1985, not only was Oklahoma one of the best teams in the country, but it had one of the most controversial players in college football in linebacker Brian Bosworth.

“My first college football game was an Oklahoma game in 1985,” Newberry said during a teleconference promoting Navy’s third appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl. “(Coach) Barry Switzer, Jamelle Holloway was the quarterback in the triple option. I saw him play against Colorado. Brian Bosworth was playing and they went on to win the national championship that year.”

OU went 11-1 and finished No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 after beating then-No. 1 Penn State in the Orange Bowl, 25-10.

Newberry said that season was when he decided to become a college football player period fortunately, his talent cooperated.

He played quarterback at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, managed to get a scholarship at Baylor and helped the Bears to a co-Southwest Conference championship in 1992, his senior season. With Baylor he moved to defense and played safety.

That led to Newberry coaching on the defensive side of the football, as he began his college career as a graduate assistant at Southern Arkansas in 1999. He worked his way up the ladder to become Navy’s defensive coordinator in 2019 and then succeeded Ken Niumatalolo as head coach for the 2023 season.

The Midshipmen have turned things around in Newberry’s second season and can double their win total from a season ago with a win.

But he also knows first-hand the challenge Oklahoma presents, even if he hasn't had the time to keep up with the Sooners like he did as a kid.

“You get a bowl game and you want to play a good opponent and we have an opportunity to play a team like Oklahoma,” he said. “Playing a team from the SEC is a great opportunity and will be a great challenge for us. Man, what a phenomenal opportunity.”