Army Black Knights Army Black Knights is the name of the athletics teams of the United States Military Academy . They participate in NCAA Division I - A as a non - football member of the Patriot League , a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school , and a member of Atlantic Hockey , the Collegiate Sprint Football League ( men ) , the Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League ( men ) , the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association , the Great America Rifle Conference , and the National Intercollegiate Women ' s Fencing Association . Army is also one of approximately 300 members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference ( ECAC ) . The three major service academies ( Army , Air Force , and Navy ) compete for the Commander - in - Chief ' s Trophy , which is awarded to the academy that defeats the others in football that year ( or retained by the previous winner in the event of a three - way tie ) . History . Since 1899 , Army ' s mascot has officially been a mule because of the animal ' s historical importance in Army operations . The academy ' s football team was nicknamed " The Black Knights of the Hudson " due to the black color of its uniforms . This nickname has since been officially shortened to " Black Knights " . The Army Black Knights also inspired a book The Black Knight ' s God : Horror Anthology . U . S . sports media use " Army " as a synonym for the academy . " On Brave Old Army Team " is the school ' s fight song . Army ' s chief sports rival is the Naval Academy , due to its long - standing football rivalry and the inter - service rivalry with the Navy in general . Fourth class cadets verbally greet upper - class cadets and faculty with " Beat Navy " , while the tunnel that runs under Washington Road is named the " Beat Navy " tunnel . In the first half of the 20th century , Army and Notre Dame were football rivals , but that rivalry has since died out . Men ' s sports . Men ' s golf . The men ' s golf team has won 19 conference championships : Non - varsity sports . Men ' s rugby . Army plays college rugby in the Division 1 - A Eastern Conference . The Black Knights play their home games at the Anderson Rugby Complex on the campus of West Point . Rugby is a relatively popular sport at Westpoint ; for example , the 2012 game against Air Force was attended by 2 , 000 fans . Army is led by Director of Rugby Rich Pohlidal . Army has one of the most successful college rugby teams in the country . Army played in three consecutive national championship games from 1990 - 1992 . Army reached the national semi - finals four consecutive years from 2000 - 2003 , and twice in a row in 2009 and 2010 . More recently , Army reached the quarterfinals in 2013 . Army also plays in the Collegiate Rugby Championship , the highest profile college rugby tournament in the US , reaching the finals in 2011 . The Collegiate Rugby Championship is played every year in early June at PPL Park in Philadelphia , and is broadcast live on NBC . Longest - running annual international sporting event . Every year , Army faces the Royal Military College of Canada ( RMC ) Paladins in the annual West Point Weekend hockey game . This series , conceived in 1923 , is the longest - running annual international sporting event in the world . Hall of fame . The Army Sports Hall of Fame consists of displays in the Kenna Hall of Army Sports , which is located within the Kimsey Athletic Center . The first set of members was inducted in 2004 .