Army–Navy Game

Army Black Knights Navy Midshipmen
Sport	Football
First meeting	November 29, 1890 Navy, 24–0
Latest meeting	December 13, 2025 Navy, 17–16
Next meeting	December 12, 2026
Broadcasters	CBS/Paramount+
Stadiums	M&T Bank Stadium (2025) MetLife Stadium (2026) Lincoln Financial Field (2027)
Trophy	Secretary's Trophy Third leg of triangular series forCommander-in-Chief's Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total	126
All-time series	Navy leads,64–55–7
Largest victory	Navy, 51–0 (1973)
Longest win streak	Navy, 14 (2002–2015)
Current win streak	Navy, 2 (2024–present)

TheArmy–Navy Game is an annualcollege football game played by theArmy Black Knights, of theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York, and theNavy Midshipmen, of theUnited States Naval Academy atAnnapolis, Maryland. The Black Knights (or Cadets) and Midshipmen each represent their service's oldestofficer commissioning sources. As such, the game has come to embody the spirit of theinterservice rivalry of theUnited States Armed Forces. The game marks the end of the college football regular season and the third and final game of the season'sCommander-in-Chief's Trophy series, which also includes theAir Force Falcons of theUnited States Air Force Academy nearColorado Springs, Colorado. The series has been uninterrupted since 1930. Through the 2025 meeting, Navy leads the series64–55–7.

Branded as "America's Game," the Army–Navy Game is one of the most traditional and enduring rivalries in college football. It has been frequently attended by thepresident of the United States.^[1] The game has been nationally televised each year since 1945 on eitherABC,CBS, orNBC. CBS has televised the game since 1996 and has the rights to the broadcast through 2038. The December 2024 announcement of CBS Sports' extension will also givetheir international channels rights inthe United Kingdom andAustralia.^[2]Instant replay made its American debut in the 1963 Army–Navy game.^[3] Since 2009, the game has been held on the second Saturday of December and followingFBS conference championship weekend.^[4] The game has been primarily played inPhiladelphia, but the game has also been held in multiple locations including theNew York area, theBaltimore–Washington area,Chicago,Pasadena, California and theBoston area.

The first game betweenArmy andNavy was on November 29, 1890. Since then, the two academies have played annually in all but ten years, and have played in consecutive annual games every season since 1930. Throughout its history, the game has been played in several neutral locations, includingNew York City andBaltimore, but it is most commonly played inPhiladelphia, which is roughly equidistant from the two academies. Historicallyplayed on the Saturday afterThanksgiving (a date on which most other major college football teams end their regular seasons), the game is now played on the second Saturday in December and is traditionally the last regular-season game played inNCAA Division I football.

Soldier Field had its formal dedication on November 27, 1926 when it hosted the Army–Navy Game.^[5] The game was attended by over 110,000 people including Knute Rockne who attended instead of coachingNotre Dame that day.^[6]

For much of the first two thirds of the 20th century, both Army and Navy were often national powers, and the game occasionally hadnational championship implications. However, as the level of play in college football increased, both academies' stringent admissions standards and height and weight limits made it difficult for them to compete. Since 1963, only the 1996, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2024, and 2025 games have seen both teams enter with winning records. Nonetheless, the game is considered a college football institution. The tradition associated with the game has kept it airing nationally on radio since 1930 and on television since 1945. It has remained an over-the-air broadcast even in the age of cable, satellite, and streaming.

The game is especially emotional for the seniors, called "first classmen" by both academies, since it is typically the last competitive regular season football game they will ever play (though they sometimes play in a subsequent bowl game). However, some participants in the Army–Navy Game have gone on to professional football careers. For example,quarterbackRoger Staubach (Navy, 1965) went on to aHall of Fame career with theNational Football League'sDallas Cowboys that included starting at quarterback in twoSuper Bowl victories (including being named theMost Valuable Player ofSuper Bowl VI), andAlejandro Villanueva (Army, 2010) was later anoffensive tackle with the NFL'sPittsburgh Steelers andBaltimore Ravens.^[7]

The game is the last of three contests in the annual Commander-in-Chief's Trophy series, awarded to each season's winner of the triangular series among Army, Navy, and Air Force since 1972. The rivalries Army and Navy have with Air Force are much less intense than the Army–Navy rivalry, primarily due to the relative youth of the Air Force Academy, established in 1954, and the physical distance between the Air Force Academy and the other two schools. The Army–Air Force and Navy–Air Force games are usually played at the academies' regular home fields, although on occasion they have been held at a neutral field.

Since 1901, there have been ten sittingpresidents of the United States to attend the Army–Navy Game. The first wasTheodore Roosevelt, who attended the game in 1901 and 1905.Harry S. Truman attended all but one edition during his eight years in office (1945–1953), missing the 1951 game due to vacation.George W. Bush attended three times in 2001, 2004, and 2008.Donald Trump attended three times in 2018, 2019, and 2020 during his first presidency, and one time in 2025 during his second presidency. Trump also attended two games aspresident-elect in 2016 and 2024.^[8][9]John F. Kennedy attended both games played during his presidency in 1961 and 1962; hewas assassinated fifteen days before the 1963 game. Presidents who each attended once includeWoodrow Wilson (1913),Calvin Coolidge (1924),Gerald Ford (1974),Bill Clinton (1996), andBarack Obama (2011).^[10][9]

From the 2024 season, Army joined Navy in theAmerican Athletic Conference (AAC) in football. As part of the arrangement, the Army–Navy Game remains an out-of-conference date for both schools, and still played on an annual basis in the week after the AAC Championship game. It is therefore conceivable that Army and Navy could contest an AAC Championship game followed by their annual game in consecutive weeks.^[11]

The rivalry between Annapolis and West Point, while friendly, is intense. The phrases "Beat Navy!" and "Beat Army!" are ingrained in the respective institutions and have become a symbol of competitiveness, not just in the Army–Navy Game, but in the service of the country. The phrases are often used at the close of (informal) letters by graduates of both academies.

A long-standing tradition at the Army–Navy football game is to conduct a formal "prisoner exchange" as part of the pre-game activities. The prisoners are the cadets and midshipmen currently spending the semester studying at the sister academy. After the exchange, students have a brief reprieve to enjoy the game with their comrades.^[12] During the pre-game ceremony, the invocation is followed by theAmerican national anthem sung by members of the Military Academy and Naval Academy choirs rather than a notable recording artist or marching band.^[13] At the end of the game, both teams'almae matres are performed. The winning team stands alongside the losing team and faces the losing academy's students; then the losing team accompanies the winning team, facing their students.^[14] This is done in a show of mutual respect and solidarity. Since the winning team's alma mater is always played last, the phrase "sing second" has become synonymous with winning the rivalry game.

Navy Midshipman (and laterAdmiral)Joseph Mason Reeves wore what is widely regarded as the firstfootball helmet in the 1893 Army–Navy Game. He had been advised by a Navy doctor that another kick to his head would result in intellectual disability or even death, so he commissioned an Annapolis shoemaker to make him a helmet out of leather.^[15]

On November 27, 1926, the Army–Navy Game was held in Chicago for the National Dedication of Soldier Field as a monument to American servicemen who had fought inWorld War I. Navy came to the game undefeated, while Army had only lost toNotre Dame. Played before a crowd of over 100,000, the teams fought to a 21–21 tie, resulting in Navy being awarded a share of the national championship.^[16][17]

In both the 1944 and 1945 contests, Army and Navy entered the game ranked #1 and #2 respectively.^[18] The 1945 game was labeled the"game of the century" before it was played. Army (9–0) defeated Navy (7-0-1) with a score of 32–13. Navy's tie was against Notre Dame.^[19]

In 1963, shortly after theassassination of President John F. Kennedy,Jacqueline Kennedy urged the academies to play after there had been talk of cancellation. Originally scheduled for November 30, 1963, the game was played on December 7, 1963, also coinciding with the 22nd anniversary ofPearl Harbor Day.^[20] In front of a crowd of 102,000 people at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, later renamedJohn F. Kennedy Stadium, junior (second class midshipman) quarterback Roger Staubach led number two ranked Navy to victory which clinched aCotton Bowl national championship matchup withTexas. Army was led by junior (second class cadet) quarterback Rollie Stichweh. Stichweh led off the game with a touchdown drive that featured the first use ofinstant replay.^[21] Army nearly won the game after another touchdown and two point conversion, Stichweh recovered the onside kick and drove the ball to the Navy 2 yard line. On 4th down and no timeouts, crowd noise prevented Stichweh from calling a play and time expired with the 21–15 final score. Staubach won theHeisman Trophy that year and was bumped off the scheduled cover ofLife magazine due to the coverage of the assassination. Stichweh and Staubach would meet again in 1964 as seniors where Stichweh's Army would defeat Staubach's Navy. In that game,Calvin Huey of Navy became the first African-American to play in the series.^[22] Staubach went on to serve in the Navy and afterward became a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys. Stichweh served five years in Vietnam with the173rd Airborne Brigade. Stichweh was inducted into theArmy Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.^[23][24]

On December 10, 2016, Army defeated Navy for the first time since 2001 with a 21–17 victory, snapping its 14-game losing streak against Navy.

In 2022, Army defeated Navy by a score of 20–17 in double overtime in the first overtime game in the series' history.

Only seven games have ever been held on the campus of either academy, primarily because neither team has ever played at an on-campus stadium large enough to accommodate the large crowds that attend. The rivalry's first four games were hosted on the parade grounds of the respective academies. For all but three years since 1899, it has been held at a neutral site. Two were held on campus due to World War II travel restrictions (1942 at Navy's oldThompson Stadium and 1943 atMichie Stadium); and the 2020 game was held at Michie Stadium due toCOVID-19 restrictions in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has been the traditional home of the Army–Navy game, due to the historic nature of the city and its location approximately halfway between West Point and Annapolis. Through the 2023 meeting, 90 of the 124 games in the series have been contested in Philadelphia, including every game from 1932 to 1982 except three games that were relocated due toWorld War II travel restrictions. For decades, thePennsylvania Railroad and its successors offered game-day service to all Army–Navy games in Philadelphia using a sprawling temporary station constructed each year near Municipal Stadium on the railroad's Greenwich freight yard. The service, with more than 40 trains serving as many as 30,000 attendees, was the single largest concentrated passenger rail movement in the country.^[25][26]

All games contested in Philadelphia through 1935 were played at what is nowFranklin Field, the home field of theUniversity of Pennsylvania. From 1936 through 1979, all games contested in Philadelphia were held at Municipal Stadium, renamedJohn F. Kennedy Stadium in 1964. From 1980 to 2001, all games contested in Philadelphia took place atVeterans Stadium. Since 2003, all games contested in Philadelphia have been played atLincoln Financial Field.

Outside of Philadelphia, the New York area has been the most frequent Army–Navy site. ThePolo Grounds holds the record for most games hosted outside of Philadelphia with nine. It was the location of all New York City games through 1927.Yankee Stadium was the site of the game in 1930 and 1931. Six games have been hosted inNew Jersey: 1905 atOsborne Field atPrinceton University, four games atGiants Stadium from 1989 to 2002, and 2021 atMetLife Stadium.

A number of games throughout the history of the series have also been hosted inMaryland. InBaltimore,Municipal Stadium was the location of the 1924 and 1944 games. Four games were played atM&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore since 2000. In 2011 and 2024, the game was played atFedExField inLandover, Maryland.

The 2023 game was held atGillette Stadium inFoxborough, Massachusetts.

TheRose Bowl is the only site west of theMississippi River where an Army–Navy game has been played, in 1983.Pasadena, California, home to the Rose Bowl, paid for the travel expenses of all the students and supporters of both academies, including 9,437 in all. The game was held at the Rose Bowl that year because there are a large number of military installations and servicemen and women, along with many retired military personnel, on the West Coast.^[27] The game has been held one other time in a non-East Coast venue, at Chicago'sSoldier Field, which hosted the 1926 game.

• December 12, 2026 – MetLife Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey
• December 11, 2027 – Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia^[28]

Stadiums

Cities

Metropolitan areas

States

Rankings are from theAP Poll.

• Note: there were no games for the following years; 1894–1898, 1909, 1917–1918 & 1928–1929

• Air Force–Army men's ice hockey rivalry
• Army Mules
• Army–Navy Cup, a college soccer game between the same schools
• Army–Navy lacrosse rivalry
• Bill the Goat
• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I
• Secretaries Cup, an annual rivalry game between the Coast Guard Bears and Merchant Marine Mariners

• Florida–Georgia football rivalry
• Red River Rivalry

• Feinstein, John (1996).A Civil War: Army Vs. Navy – A Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry. Diane Books Publishing.ISBN 978-0-7881-5777-6

Wikimedia Commons has media related toArmy–Navy Game.

• Official website
• The Army-Navy Game: A Tradition of Grit, Respect, and National Pride

• Army–Navy Game
• 1890 establishments in New York (state)
• Annual sporting events in the United States
• College football rivalries in the United States
• Military competitions in American football
• Recurring sporting events established in 1890

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