Photo courtesy of Navy Lightweight Crew.
The Col. Michael Paulovich USMC Team Trophy is named for Colonel Michael (Mike) Paulovich, USMC (Ret), and is presented annually to the crew winning the most races in the 1V – 5V events rowed between Navy and Harvard.
Mike (Harvard 1979) rowed Crimson lightweight eights from 1975-1979 under coaches Gregg Stone, John Higginson, and Peter Raymond.
One fond memory of Mike’s is that the Friday before the 28 April 1979 Navy-Harvard race, when he rowed in an eight against Navy on the Severn, he and the other econ majors in the boats were administered Harvard’s Honors General Exam (3-4 hour bluebook) under a coach proctor in Nimitz Library.
Commissioned in June 1979 as a Second Lieutenant of Marines, Mike was later assigned to the USNA Economics Department in 1984, where he taught Econ in Nimitz Library — the same place he had taken his econ general exams five years earlier. While at USNA during this tour of duty, Mike also coached the 1984-1985 Navy Women’s Novice Crew in Hubbard Hall.
Fast forward almost twenty years, and in 2005 Mike returned to USNA dual-hatted as Division Director of Humanities and Social Sciences and Senior Marine at USNA. And, during the 2006-2007 season Mike was also Officer Representative for Navy Lightweight Crew.
After a twenty-eight year Marine Corps career, Mike retired as a Colonel of Marines and his retirement ceremony was conducted in Hubbard Hall. Hubbard and Newell are both special for Mike, and he has a print of each hanging proudly in his home.
Since 2006, Mike has also been honored to referee the annual Navy-Harvard races on the Severn.
Harvard – Navy Lightweight Karma?
Another interesting bit of rowing lore that connects Harvard and Navy lightweight crews is that during Mike’s senior year at Harvard his coach was Peter Raymond (Princeton 1968), who rowed in the 1968 US Olympic Four and also in the 1972 US Olympic Eight, which won silver in Munich.
Peter coached the 1970-1971 Navy Plebe Heavyweight Crew while serving active duty in the Navy at USNA. He would later coach the 1974-1975 Harvard Freshman Lightweight Crew, the 1975-1977 Radcliffe Varsity Women’s Crews, and the 1978-1980 Harvard Varsity Lightweight Crews.
Paulovich Team Trophy Competition
Competition for the inaugural Team Trophy was rowed on 22 April 2017 and won by Navy on the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
A dedication for this renamed Col. Michael Paulovich USMC Team Trophy was conducted in conjunction with Mike’s presentation of the trophy to Harvard Lightweight Crew following their win in the 21 April 2018 Navy-Harvard regatta on the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland.
Due to COVID-19 Navy and Harvard did not race in 2020 and 2021.
Harvard leads the team trophy series 4 – 2.
Please send any additions and/or corrections to the NavyLights Staff Historian.
Col. Michael Paulovich USMC Team Trophy Winning Crews
| Year | Winner | Series N – H |
|
| 2017 | Navy | 1 – 0 | Inaugural competition for the Team Trophy |
| 2018 | Harvard | 1 – 1 | Inaugural competition for the Col. Michael Paulovich USMC Team Trophy |
| 2019 | Harvard | 1 – 2 | |
| 2020 | NO RACE | ||
| 2021 | NO RACE | ||
| 2022 | Navy | 2 – 2 | |
| 2023 | Harvard | 2 – 3 | |
| 2024 | Harvard | 2 – 4 | |
| 2025 | |||
| 2026 | |||
| 2027 | |||
| 2028 | |||
| 2029 | |||
| 2030 |