Could Historic Army-Navy Game Move To Accommodate CFP?

The historic Army-Navy game is a revered fixture of college football, one that has been played on the second Saturday of December since 2009. That helps the game get away from conference championship games. It previously had been played the weekend after the Thanksgiving weekend. There’s been plenty of intense discussions about it standing in the way of the expanded College Football Playoff format, one that many still want to see grow to 16 or even 24 teams. Recently, Army football coach Jeff Monken seems to have come around to that idea, as he told the Athletic that he’d have interest in moving that game to Thanksgiving weekend itself.

Monken sees it in the best interest of the sport and for the programs to move the protected date and allow for the CFP to begin one week sooner after the conference championship slate. It would also get rid of the potential problem of having that game matter a lot in the final CFP field. For one, the teams are now in the American conference with Army joining. There was discussion in the first year of the expanded 12-team field of Army or Navy being in the playoff. It would feel odd to already have that selection wrapped up, in the case of either being in the running. Moreover, it also makes it a bit odd if they were to make the American Conference Championship game. This switch would undo a bit of those hiccups.

The game has been a huge part of the history of the sport and has had an exclusive window that protects the game. Monken would want that exclusive window to move to Thanksgiving weekend.

“Give us a four-hour block on Thanksgiving, or on Friday of Thanksgiving, or on Saturday of Thanksgiving, and give us a four-hour block, and just say nobody else plays during this four-hour block,” Monken told the Athletic. “That’s still protecting the game.”

That’s easier said than done, as every FBS team stands to play that weekend. But with the respect the game carries in the sport, it can certainly get done. Moreover, if it stands to make a difference in the College Football Playoff calendar, and the parties are motivated to move that up, it has a better chance of getting done.

Now, that’s only Army’s side of things, with Monken saying that he believes his athletic director also is in favor of a move. Navy’s position isn’t exactly clear. But Monkey sees benefit for both parties, as they both want to be in the playoff conversation. And with the eventual expansion to a 16-team field, it puts the CFP so late into January that this may prove necessary down the line, and this frankly seems like the only feasible solution.