U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation

For more than a century, the U.S. Naval Academy Association & Foundation has worked to advance the interests, priorities and mission of the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1886, Lieutenant Commander Charles Belknap, Class of 1867, formed the U.S. Naval Academy Graduates Association. The first dinner was held during June Week, 1886.

As the Association grew, so did its need for resources. Through the generous efforts of the Association's chapters, an endowment was established to help fund the organization, hire staff, create programs and eventually create Shipmate Magazine, which would help “bind the ties” of alumni.

In 1931, the Association’s Board of Governors formed a new organization that would include non-graduates as well as graduates of the Naval Academy in its membership. In May 1931, the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association was incorporated in Washington, DC. On 6 October 1947, the Alumni Association was incorporated in the state of Maryland.

With each passing year, alumni, staff and the wider USNA community have contributed to the rich and distinguished history of the Association & Foundation. Our mission is to preserve and celebrate the customs, traditions and Sea Stories that bind and enrich our organization and help to strengthen the life-long bonds that our alumni treasure.