Army and Navy have not played each other outside of December since 1983—but it appears that could change soon due to modernity’s encroachment on one of college football’s oldest games.
Black Knights coach Jeff Monken endorsed moving the game between Army and the Midshipmen from the second weekend of December to the weekend on Thanksgiving in a conversation published Monday with Seth Emerson of The Athletic.
“I think Army-Navy is a huge part of the history of college football, and what it is today, even. Give us a four-hour block on Thanksgiving, or on Friday of Thanksgiving, or on Saturday of Thanksgiving, and give us a four-hour block, and just say nobody else plays during this four-hour block,” Monken said by way of suggestion. “That’s still protecting the game.”
The annual clash between the Black Knights and Midshipmen is considered one of college football’s most sacrosanct rivalries, and it has survived a number of developments to date (the institution of conference championships, conference shifts for both teams, postseason tinkering) with some degree of exclusivity intact.
However, the expansion of the College Football Playoff has made many eager to compress a season that now stretches well into January. That would mean potentially dislodging the Army-Navy game from its privileged slot.
On top of that—as Monken noted—the Black Knights and Midshipmen want shots at the CFP, too. The two service academies have cracked the CFP rankings in four different seasons, with Navy reaching as high as No. 15 in 2015.
“It is possible for us to be in the playoffs,” Monken told Emerson. “But the problem becomes is if they expand the playoffs, or they move the playoffs to start at an earlier date, that would essentially force us to say, O.K., do you play in the playoffs, or you play the Army-Navy game. Well, what kind of decision is that? We want to do both.”
Navy’s athletic director responds
It took just a day for Midshipmen athletic director Michael Kelly to express opposition to Monken’s idea; he did so in an interview Tuesday with Bill Wagner of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md.
“I’m always open-minded to different options, but I’m not supportive of the Thanksgiving suggestion,” Kelly said. “I think that would be really detrimental to our revenue potential in terms of viewership and sponsorship.”
The game regularly draws a capacity crowd, and has a longstanding affiliation with over-the-air television that dates back to just after World War II. In 2026, it will be played on Dec. 12 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Top Army, Navy Officials Disagree on Significant Proposed Change to Rivalry Game.
