When college football fans reflect on the season’s end, they often think of bowl games or playoff matchups. But for many, perhaps more meaningful than any bowl, the season really concludes with one final game: Army vs. Navy. The Army–Navy Game typically lands after conference championships and bowl invites, not because the service academies are chasing playoff glory, but because the contest belongs to something older, deeper, and entirely different: tradition, honor, and service.
This year, on Saturday, December 13, 2025, the 126th meeting will take place, and the coveted triangular prize for all three service academies, the Commander‑in‑Chief's Trophy (CIC Trophy), will be decided. With both Army and Navy having beaten the Air Force Falcons earlier this season, the winner of Army–Navy will walk away with the hardware. That alone makes this year’s game a must-watch, even if you aren’t a die-hard football follower.
Legacy by the Numbers
- First game: November 29, 1890 — Navy won 24–0.
- Total meetings (as of the end of 2024): 125 games.
- Series record: Navy leads with 63 wins, Army has 55 wins, and there have been 7 ties.
- Longest win streak: Navy — 14 straight from 2002–2015.
- Largest margin of victory: Navy 51–0 in 1973.
Those numbers only tell part of the story. The game is built on over a century of competition, respect, and shared tradition, unfolding against the backdrop of American military and cultural history.
The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy: A Three-Way Rivalry With Deeper Meaning
What often goes unnoticed by casual fans is that Army–Navy is only part of a larger annual triangular rivalry among the three major U.S. service academies. Since 1972, Army, Navy, and Air Force have competed for the CIC Trophy — awarded each season to the academy with the best head-to-head record among the three.
Through the End of 2024:
| Academy | CIC Trophy Titles |
|---|---|
| Air Force Falcons | 21 |
| Navy Midshipmen | 17 |
| Army Black Knights | 10 |
There have also been shared trophies when tie-break formats could not determine a distinct winner, on five such occasions.
The trophy itself is a striking piece — roughly 170 pounds and 2.5 feet tall, topped with three silver footballs. Each academy receives hosting rights and a White House trip when victorious, reinforcing the symbolic connection between the academies and the Commander-in-Chief.
More importantly, the triangular rivalry adds real depth: it’s not just about one game or two schools, it’s about the intertwined competition, heritage, and shared mission among all branches of military service represented by the academies. Each season, cadets and midshipmen aren’t just playing for school pride; they’re competing for the honor of representing their service branch as the top academy for the year.
2025: A Season With Real Stakes
This season, Navy defeated Air Force 34–31 in the opening leg of the CIC series. Army secured its own win over Air Force in their match-up, setting the stage for a rare moment: the Army–Navy Game will decide the trophy outright.
That means the final game of the season becomes even more compelling. No bowls or playoff implications are on the line — but the stakes could not be higher for the academies, alumni, and the military community. Whoever wins claims service-academy supremacy for 2025.
Uniforms, Pageantry, and Living Heritage
Over the years, the Army–Navy Game has become as much about spectacle and pageantry as competition, a living tradition blending military heritage, institutional pride, and football. The game is where both programs debut commemorative uniforms reflecting history, service, and sacrifice.
Recent Navy designs honored the six original frigates, highlighting naval heritage through ship copper sheathing, anchor iconography, and maritime symbolism. Army uniforms have similarly honored military eras, heritage divisions, or commemorative anniversaries tied to Army history and wartime service.
The uniforms are not aesthetic gimmicks. They are statements of identity: visual tributes to the legacies of those who served before these players ever stepped onto a field.
For cadets and midshipmen, the uniforms are reminders that they represent more than a school — they represent a profession, a mission, and a history.
Pre-game traditions, crowd formation, the prisoner exchange, and post-game alma mater ceremonies transform the stadium into an arena of respect and collective identity. In a rivalry built on deep competition, such touches transform the game from football to heritage.
The Symbolism: Competitors Today, Teammates Tomorrow
What makes the Army–Navy Game unlike any other rivalry in college sports is the simple truth that the players are competitors for a few hours on the field, and future teammates for the rest of their careers. On game day, cadets and midshipmen hit, block, fight for yardage, and pour every ounce of emotion into beating their rival academy. But when the final whistle blows and both schools sing their alma maters, something more profound emerges.
These athletes are not destined for endorsement deals, transfer-portal maneuvering, or NFL draft boards. Their futures don’t lead to stadiums, but to commissioning ceremonies, flight lines, ships, submarines, armored units, cyber operations, and joint commands.
When the game ends, Army players and Navy players will eventually stand side-by-side in the same military, executing missions together, unified not by school colors but by a shared oath.
The rivalry is intense precisely because the competition is real, but the unity afterward is even more meaningful. Service-academy athletes compete for school pride, but when the game ends, and uniforms are exchanged for fatigues or dress blues, the rivalry dissolves. The same players will later trust one another in the context of warfighting, global operations, or national defense in a level of teamwork more consequential than anything on a football field.
The post-game rituals matter precisely because of what they say: the losing team sings its alma mater first, and the winning team sings second, together, shoulder-to-shoulder, honoring one another before anyone celebrates. It is one of the few rivalries in sports where respect is codified into the closing ceremony.
The symbolism is unmistakable: competition is temporary, but the bond of service is permanent. When the game's players graduate, they will step into the same profession of arms, assuming responsibility for national security and ultimately depending on one another. Army–Navy reminds us that rivalry can coexist with unity, and that shared sacrifice and shared purpose matter more than the scoreboard.
Voices from the Coaches: Why This Rivalry Matters
Jeff Monken, Head Coach of the Army Black Knights, has spoken bluntly about what’s at stake when service academies meet.
“I don’t know that there is a more important goal we have than winning the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy and trying to bring the trophy back here.”
For him and his program, it’s never just a regular game. It’s a chance to honor the institution, the Corps, and every cadet who commits to serve. A goal steeped in tradition and purpose beyond wins and losses.
From the Navy side, Brian Newberry, the head coach of the Navy Midshipmen, captures the rivalry’s mixture of intensity, pride, and humor: “We’ve still got a football team in Annapolis.”
That line, delivered after a hard-earned victory over Army, signals that for Navy, the rivalry isn’t nostalgia or pageantry, it’s living, breathing competition. But more than that, it’s about defending a legacy, a tradition, and a calling.
Together, these voices frame the rivalry not as mere sport, but as a season-long exercise in service, honor, and institutional pride that culminates in a game and a trophy that carries meaning far beyond the field.
Why the 2025 Game Is Must-See
- It closes the season with authentic stakes, not bowl positioning, but the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
- It showcases football based on discipline, toughness, and teamwork and not NIL contracts or transfer portals.
- It demonstrates how competition and unity can coexist, a lesson often uncommon in modern college sports.
- It offers a heritage moment: commemorative uniforms, pageantry, and rituals honoring generations of military service.
- For the American public, whether military or civilian, it is a shared reminder that honor, duty, sacrifice, and unity are not slogans. They are lived commitments.
You don’t have to be a football fan to understand the importance of this game. You only need to understand what these young men represent and who they will become when the game ends.
How to Watch the 2025 Army–Navy Game
For fans, veterans, families, academy alumni, or anyone who wants to experience one of America’s most meaningful athletic traditions, the viewing details are straightforward:
- Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025
- Kickoff: 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time
- Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland — the neutral-site home of this year’s rivalry matchup
- Television: Broadcast nationally on CBS
- Streaming: Available via Paramount+ Premium, the CBS Sports App, or CBSSports.com (live streaming options may depend on subscription access)
- Radio: Service-academy radio networks and regional affiliates will carry the game; check local listings for military markets and academy coverage
Beyond the score and the highlights, tune in early to experience the full tradition: the pageantry of the march-on formations, the prisoner exchange, the ceremonial flyovers, the debut uniforms, and the dual alma mater performance when the game ends. These are the rituals that make Army–Navy bigger than football — and why it remains one of America’s most enduring and unifying sporting events.
