Founded in 1938 by Arthur Gochman as Southern Sales surplus chain. Name changed to Academy Corp in 1973, inspired by St. Henry's Academy. David Gochman became CEO in 1996, taking over after father's death
Initial production target was 6,000 F-35s for $200 billion over 25 years. Program cost increased from $76.7M to $136.8M between 2001-2012. Total production forecast ranged from 3,217 to 4,950 aircraft by 2013