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On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at guaranteeing the Army–Navy football game maintains its exclusive broadcasting window.
The order, called “Preserving America’s Game,” comes two months after Trump first announced he would draft an executive order of this nature. It calls out the possibility of an expanded College Football Playoff encroaching on the second weekend in December, when Army and Navy play.
“For over a century, the Army–Navy Game, known as ‘America’s Game,’ has stood as a symbol of excellence and the American spirit,” the order said. “Such scheduling conflicts weaken the national focus on our Military Service Academies and detract from a morale-building event of vital interest to the Department of War.”
Currently, the 12-team CFP commences the weekend after the Army-Navy game; but if the bracket grew to 16 or 24 teams, as has been discussed, the first round of the CFP might start the weekend Army and Navy normally play. Those potential conflicts could jeopardize the business success of the game, as well as make it more logistically difficult—or potentially impossible—for Army or Navy to participate in the CFP bracket.
To avoid this scenario, Trump’s executive order directs the Secretary of Commerce, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the College Football Playoff, broadcast networks, and the NCAA (though the NCAA has no control over the CFP) to work to secure an exclusive broadcasting window for the Army-Navy game.
Although Trump had initially indicated his executive order would assign the second Saturday in December as the Army–Navy game’s exclusive window, the order issued Friday does not specify a timeframe reserved for the game. This potentially leaves wiggle room for the CFP, service academies, and networks to determine the best time if the CFP does expand.
Both service academies are having conversations regarding potential contingency plans for the game if CFP expansion occurs, Front Office Sports previously reported.
The CFP management committee could not come to an agreement on expansion for the 2026 season. The earliest CFP expansion could take place would be the 2027–28 season.
