The service academy college football teams play each other every year, despite playing in different conferences. The series is one of the very few triangular rivalries in college football. It features the U.S. Military Academy (Army Black Knights), the U.S. Naval Academy (Navy Midshipmen), and the U.S. Air Force Academy (Air Force Falcons).
The Navy–Air Force game is traditionally played on the first Saturday in October, with the Army–Air Force game on the first Saturday in November. The Army-Navy game is the largest of the three because it is the oldest, first played in 1890 and annually since 1930. It’s also the last in the series, played on the second Saturday in December, and it often determines which academy wins the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
The trophy itself is almost three feet high and weighs 170 lbs. It is awarded to the service academy with the best inter-service football record.
While there are many trophies in college football rivalries, there are only two teams invited to the White House and congratulated by the President every year: the national championship team and the service academy that wins the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy.
Since Nixon began the annual contest between the three academies in 1972, it has been a slugfest on the field when these teams play throughout the season, even if the teams themselves haven’t performed well. Besides, it’s not just about trophies; it’s about service pride.
Air Force is the all-time leader in wins, with 21. Navy is a close second with 17. The longest streak also belongs to Navy, which held it for seven years from 2003 until 2010. Army has only won 10 times since 1972, and though the Black Knights last received the trophy from President Joe Biden in 2023, its drought was so long that the previous president to present Army with the trophy was Bill Clinton in 1996.
