Over 55 Members Of Congress Ask For Preservation Of Annual Army-Navy Game
When Army and Navy take the field on Saturday for their annual rivalry showdown, they won't be the only college football game on the schedule. In fact, a game will already have been played prior to kickoff.
United States Senator Dan Sullivan is leading a group in Congress to make sure that doesn't happen again moving forward.
Sullivan, along with 55 other members of Congress and two Senators-elect, sent a letter to the College Football Playoff and Bowl Season Executive Directors, urging them to preserve the Army-Navy game as a "time-honored tradition."
"We write out of concern that the additional games detract from the focus on our Armed Forces that the nationally televised Army vs. Navy Game provided with a unique day set aside for it," the letter, which was obtained by OutKick, reads.
Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken greets Navy Midshipmen head coach Brian Newberry before the 2023 Army-Navy Game at Gillette Stadium.
(Danny Wild/USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images)
"Young Americans often cite the pregame events as igniting their interest in serving in uniform. The airtime of those pregame events are now in jeopardy with a preceding televised college football game. We feel there is no other block of time in television programming that rekindles our nation's patriotism, unity, and confidence in the military and promotes a greater sense of appreciation than this incredible game day production.
"On behalf of both Army and Navy, all those who are serving or have served our country and the citizens whom we represent, we respectfully request you set aside the second Saturday in December in future seasons solely for the Army vs. Navy Game to preserve this time-honored tradition."
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This Saturday starts with the Cricket Celebration Bowl, which also serves as the HBCU national championship, between Jackson State and South Carolina State at 12 p.m. ET.
Army-Navy kicks off at 3 p.m. ET and remains the only game in that timeslot. However, there is a second bowl game on Saturday night, as South Alabama and Western Michigan square off in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at 9 p.m. ET.
More than 50 members of the United States Congress, led by Alaskan Senator Dan Sullivan, wrote a letter to the college football powers urging them to preserve the Army-Navy game.
(Danny Wild/USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images)
"The Army-Navy game is about more than just football – it is a testament to America at its best. It’s also an important recruiting tool, provides much-needed athletic funds for West Point and the Naval Academy, and in good times and bad, unifies us as a nation," Senator Sullivan told OutKick in a statement.
"Other games should not compete with this game—it’s too important for our country. For one Saturday in December, the CFP and Bowl Season should put our country, and our service members first."
Expanded College Football Playoff plays role in relegating Army-Navy to one of three games on Saturday
One of the unintended consequences of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff is that it really compressed the college football schedule, not allowing much time for play between the end of the regular season and the start of the Bowl games and Playoff.
Thus, for the first time in 15 years (not counting the COVID year when everything was thrown off), Army-Navy does not have a Saturday in December all to itself.
"The game is always played in a sold-out NFL venue and brings patriotism and pageantry to the fans in the stadium and to the people of the host city. To reflect the immeasurable esteem that this event garnered for decades, it has been played for many years on a Saturday reserved specifically for the Army vs. Navy Game without any competing college football events," the letter, signed by nearly 60 current and future members of Congress, states.
"College commissioners voted unanimously to schedule the twelve-team College Football Playoff (CFP) around the Army vs. Navy Football Game. The decision demonstrated a significant degree of respect extended by the most prominent leaders in college football, which we strongly commend. Nevertheless, the expanded CFP will cause other bowl games—for the first time in recent history—to be played on the same day as the Army vs. Navy Game."
We'll have to wait and see if the expanded College Football Playoff continues to force the hand of the college football powers-that-be, or if they can find a way to preserve the annual Army-Navy showdown as the sole college football event on a Saturday in December.