Mercer at VMI

Coaching staffs have been the biggest difference, at least in the Army/Navy comparison, IMO.  Comparing the post-playing day mission @ Army to the Naval Academy and AFA also puts West Point at a recruiting disadvantage compared to the other two, when FBS caliber recruits are deciding which branch of service has future appeal.  Todd Berry had a nice balanced offense when he coached at Illinois State, but couldn't get the players he needed to make it work at Army.  They turned to Rich Ellerson from Cal Poly to bring his successful triple option attack to Harvard on the Hudson, but he was stymied with many handcuffs including weight restrictions which really limited his offensive and defensive lines.  They were/are too undersized to compete with most FBS squads, even running the option.  I've already heard that Jeff Monken gained some changes once he took the job, that will bode well in his effort to improve the W/L record there, but it won't happen overnight. 

When Paul Johnson arrived at Navy in 2002 he already had a previous stint there and knew the subculture, and what needed to change.  He's been successful at every stop, and Ken Niamatalolo has done a great job keeping that program on the rails.  When Johnson left for Tech he took about half of the offensive staff and half of the defensive staff, leaving Ken with a nice balance of experience.  Niamatalolo has also kept his staff pretty consistent and most of them learned under that Johnson coaching tree umbrella at various places.

One other thing, both Army & Navy can divert a lot of folks to their prep schools and Navy has made it an art form in stockpiling potential talent.

Citadel benefits from recruiting in the deep south, IMO ... though that benefit continues to wane as programs like ours, Kennesaw State, Georgia State and others ramp up their programs.  The other poster's comments about the Rat Line @ VMI, and the knobs @ the Citadel make it particularly more difficult for them to keep their recruiting classes intact.  Not to say that Plebe Year at the Naval Academy or West Point is a walk in the park.