• Loading stock data...
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Fox Analyst and Media Entrepreneur Greg Olsen to Speak at Tuned In Get your ticket now!

Army-Navy Is Always Big. This Year’s Game Holds Special Significance

Always a highlight of the college football calendar, the renewal of the long-running military rivalry has heightened stakes.

Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The annual Army-Navy game has always been a special outlier in the world of college football, but this year’s edition is carrying quite a bit more competitive juice—for not only the two military academies but also broadcaster CBS Sports and the entirety of college football. 

The 125th edition of what is colloquially known as America’s Game, set for Saturday afternoon at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., will mark the first meeting in seven years with each holding winning records, and both programs are also bowl-bound. The on-field success defining this year’s game, however, goes much further. 

Army is currently ranked No. 19 nationally, its highest placement since 2018. The 11–1 Black Knights were previously in the mix for a slot in the College Football Playoff, and their only loss this year is to Notre Dame, the CFP’s No. 7 seed. Navy, meanwhile, carries an 8–3 record and also is still finding a way to compete strongly in a sport rapidly being transformed by unprecedented financial scale and ambition. 

Both Army and Navy, as military academies, do not allow their players to accept NIL (name, image, and likeness) money, nor do they participate in the transfer portal. While Army is headed to the Dec. 28 Independence Bowl against Marshall, and Navy will face Oklahoma in the Dec. 27 Armed Forces Bowl, the upcoming rivalry game arguably means more, and it’s the single-biggest revenue driver for each football program.  

“It’s a game and a season really all of its own,” said Army coach Jeff Monken. “We’ve had a good year. You make it a great year by winning this game.”

Media Matters

The Army-Navy game has averaged more than seven million viewers over the past decade, a figure that compares favorably to some recent title games in major conferences. Part of that robust standing owes to the contest typically holding an unchallenged slot on the college football calendar after most other conferences finish their regular-season schedules. The heightened national standing for both teams could further fuel an even higher figure for this year.

CBS Sports, which has exclusively shown the Army-Navy game since 1996, this week completed a 10-year rights extension that will continue the deal through at least 2038. 

“America’s Game is special, and has always been about more than football,” said CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson. 

Plenty of Pageantry

Saturday’s event, meanwhile, has been preceded by a full week of ancillary events, including a fan fest and a football camp for military children with former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, the son of two Army sergeants. President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to attend the game. 

“Given all the changes that have happened [in college football] this year, the fact that Army and Navy had such a significant and positive performance this year, it gives us a really good feeling on how both teams, and academy athletics broadly, can remain relevant in however college sports shapes up to be,” USAA chief marketing officer Francesco Lagutaine tells Front Office Sports. The financial services company is the presenting sponsor of the Army-Navy game.

The ticket resale market for the game is hovering around $200 each for low-end, get-in seats. That figure is more than twice the comparable level for the upcoming Armed Forces Bowl, and more than 10 times the level for the Independence Bowl.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Aug 23, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) leads the team onto the field for warm ups before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

Slow Burn: The NFL’s Private-Equity Era So Far

Three deals have been struck to date. But the league is bullish.
Donald Trump

Donald Trump Attending US Open As Rolex Guest

USTA asked broadcasters not to show “disruptions or reactions” to Trump’s attendance.
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) and linebacker C.J. Hicks (11) shake hands while leaving the field following the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. Ohio State won 14-7

How Ohio State Rebuilt Its NIL Strategy in the Rev-Share Era

The Buckeyes are staying “aggressive” in the new NIL landscape.

NIL Go Corrects Its Data From $80M in Deals Cleared to $35M,..

It’s another bump in the rocky rollout of the new NIL clearinghouse.

Featured Today

Tennis

The US Open Is Groaning Under the Weight of Its Own Success

New York’s tennis major is more popular than ever.
Dec 21, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) gets ready to take the field prior to a game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
September 5, 2025

How Brazil Game Fits Into NFL’s Plans for World Domination

Friday night’s Chiefs-Chargers game in São Paulo is big by design.
Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrate their touchdown pass during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field.
September 2, 2025

TV Ratings Just Changed Again. The NFL Will Be the Big Winner

Nielsen’s new viewership system will have a big impact on sports.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates with offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) after a touchdown catch against Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025.
August 30, 2025

The Most Expensive Roster Year in College Football History

The House settlement created revenue-sharing—and a big NIL loophole.
Workers set up the stages for the “Fox Big Noon Kickoff” sports show live telecast before Saturday’s Iowa State and Iowa football game at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
exclusive
September 3, 2025

Big 12 Embraces Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports

The conference held a call with Portnoy to discuss coverage and collaboration.
Arch Manning
September 4, 2025

NIL Go Says It Has Cleared $80 Million in NIL Deals So..

NIL collectives, however, say the majority of their deals are in limbo.
Sponsored

Trailblazer Cal Calamia Is Racing for ‘Advocacy, Storytelling, and Performance’

The marathoner wants excellence—not just inclusion—to be the goal for non-binary athletes.
Aug 30, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores linebacker Langston Patterson (10) looks over the defense against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers during the first half at FirstBank Stadium.
September 3, 2025

Latest Class Action Eligibility Lawsuit Challenges NCAA’s ‘Redshirt’ Rule

It’s the latest lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s core eligibility requirements.
The cast of ESPN College GameDay begins their show prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. The show is the final one for Lee Corso.
September 2, 2025

College Students Have Already Won $550K in McAfee Kicking Contest This Season

In 2023, only one student made the kick the whole season.
Aug 30, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) drops back to pass against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half at Ohio Stadium.
September 2, 2025

On This Year’s CFB Rosters, Even Backup QBs Make Six Figures

The going rate for backup quarterbacks is in the mid-six-figures.
Mike Gundy
September 2, 2025

OSU’s Gundy, Oregon’s Lanning Trade Barbs Over Alleged $30 Million Gap

Lanning ripped Gundy’s “excuse” and said “we spend to win.”