Reed, Sullivan & Colleagues Ask College Football Playoffs to Preserve Army Navy Game’s ‘Time Honored Tradition’

WASHINGTON, DC - Ahead of the 125^th annual Army-Navy game set to kickoff this Saturday at 3 p.m. just outside our nation's capital, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), a member of SASC, led a letter with over 50 of their Congressional colleagues to the executive directors of the College Football Playoff and Bowl Season asking that they preserve the annual Army-Navy football game's "time-honored tradition" of setting "aside the second Saturday in December in future seasons solely" for the patriotic sporting event which also serves as an important recruiting tool for the U.S Armed Forces and as a patriotic, unifying force for the nation.

This year's Army-Navy game will be the first time since 2009 that other games have been scheduled on the same day (excluding the 2020 season which was modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

"The Army vs. Navy Football Game - affectionately known as "America's Game" - has long been recognized as one of the greatest events in all of college sports," the 55 members of Congress wrote in the letter. "The game is so important that it continued to be played even during World War II. Citizens throughout the world look forward to the game's telecast, which engages the interest of millions of Americans, including the hundreds of thousands of current and former military personnel who watch it. 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 continues: "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. 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."

Reed, a West Point graduate who plans to attend this year's contest to cheer 19^th ranked Army (11-1) on to victory, stated: "Army-Navy is more than a game. It's an American tradition that brings the country together, helps strengthen military recruiting, and highlights our very best. So much of college sports is about money these days, but keeping the national spotlight on Army-Navy for one special Saturday every year is a tradition worth preserving. Go Army, beat Navy!"

Full text of the letter follows:

December 12, 2024

Dear Mr. Clark and Mr. Carparelli:

The Army vs. Navy Football Game - affectionately known as "America's Game" - has long been recognized as one of the greatest events in all of college sports. The game is so important that it continued to be played even during World War II. Citizens throughout the world look forward to the game's telecast, which engages the interest of millions of Americans, including the hundreds of thousands of current and former military personnel who watch it.

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.

As you know, 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 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. 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.

We would like to thank you in advance for recognizing the importance of safeguarding the exclusivity of the Army vs. Navy Game and are hopeful we can work together to protect America's Game.

Sincerely,

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