Army – Navy Game The Army – Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the teams of the United States Military Academy ( USMA ) at West Point , New York and the United States Naval Academy ( USNA ) at Annapolis , Maryland . The USMA team , " Army " , and the USNA team , " Navy " , each represent their services ' oldest officer commissioning sources . As such , the game has come to embody the spirit of the interservice rivalry of the United States Armed Forces . The Army - Navy game is one of the most traditional and enduring rivalries in college football . The game is nationally televised by CBS , which has aired the game every year since 1984 except for a five - year stint on ABC from 1991 – 1995 . Instant replay made its debut in the 1963 Army - Navy game . The winner of the game is awarded the " Thompson Cup " , named after its donor , Robert M . Thompson . The most recent game in the series was held at FedEx Field in Landover , Maryland , on 10 December 2011 . Navy won by a score of 27 - 21 . Navy now leads the all - time series with a record of 56 wins , 49 losses , and seven ties . Series history . The Army – Navy Game , commencing in 1890 , has been held at several locations throughout its history , but has most frequently been played in Philadelphia , roughly equidistant from the two academies . Historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving , the game is now played on the second Saturday in December and is traditionally the last game of the season for both teams and , until the recent advent of conference championship games , it was the last regular - season game played in Division I - A football . With the permanent expansion of the regular season to 12 games starting in 2006 , many regular - season games joined the Army – Navy Game on the same weekend . In 2009 , the game was moved from the first Saturday in December to the second Saturday ; this means that it will no longer conflict with conference championship games and once again is the last regular - season contest in college football . This game has inter - service " bragging rights " at stake ; in past decades , when both Army and Navy were often national powers , the game occasionally had national championship implications . However , as the level of play in college football improved nationally , and became fueled by prospects of playing in the National Football League ( NFL ) , the high academic entrance requirements , height and weight limits , and the five - year military commitment required has reduced the overall competitiveness of both academies . Since 1963 , only the 1996 and 2010 games have seen both teams enter with winning records . Nonetheless , the game has been nationally televised every year since 1945 , and the tradition associated with the game has assured that it remains nationally televised to this day . Arguably , one of the great appeals of this game to many fans is that since few , if any , of the participants will ever play in the NFL , they are playing solely for the love of the game . By the time their post - graduation military commitments end , many players are simply deemed too old to even consider playing competitively again , much less in the professional ranks . Many have other post - service ambitions that would preclude such a career , or they simply do not want to pursue one . Nevertheless , some participants in the Army – Navy Game have gone on to professional football careers . Quarterback Roger Staubach ( Navy , 1965 ) went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys that included being named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl VI . Wide receiver and kickoff / punt returner Phil McConkey ( Navy , 1979 ) was a popular player on the New York Giants ' squad that won Super Bowl XXI . Running back Napoleon McCallum ( Navy , 1985 ) was able to concurrently serve his commitment to the Navy and play for the then - Los Angeles Raiders in 1986 . After satisfying his Navy commitment , he joined the Raiders full - time . Sadly , his career was ended by a gruesome knee injury suffered in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in 1994 . The game is especially emotional for the seniors , called " first classmen " by both academies , since it is typically the last competitive football game they will ever play ( the games in 1996 and 2010 were aberrations , as both Army and Navy went to bowl game s afterwards , and Navy played in a bowl game in each season from 2003 through 2010 , and will do so again in 2012 ) . During wartime the game is even more emotional , as some seniors will not return once they are deployed . For instance , in the 2004 game , at least one senior from the class of 2003 who was killed in Iraq , Navy ' s J . P . Blecksmith , was remembered . The players placed their comrade ' s pads and jerseys on chairs on the sidelines . Much of the sentiment of the game goes out to those who share the uniform and who are overseas . At the end of the game , the alma mater s of the losing team and then the winning team are played and sung . The winning team stands alongside the losing team and faces the losing academy students ; then the losing team accompanies the winning team , facing their students . This is done in a show of mutual respect and solidarity . The rivalry between Annapolis and West Point , while friendly , is intense . Even the mascots ( the Navy Goat and Army Mule ) have been known to play pranks on each other . The Cadets live and breathe the phrase " Beat Navy " , while Midshipmen have the opposite phrase , " Beat Army " , dinned into them ( even the weight plates in the Navy weight room are stamped with " Beat Army " ) . They have become a symbol of competitiveness , not just in the Army – Navy Game , but in the service of their country , and are often used at the close of ( informal ) letters by graduates of both academies . A long standing tradition at the Army - Navy football game is to conduct a formal " prisoner exchange " as part of the pre - game activities . The prisoners are the cadets and midshipmen currently spending the semester studying at the sister academy . After the exchange , students have a brief reprieve to enjoy the game with their fellow comrades . Occasionally , the Commander - in - Chief ' s Trophy , awarded to each season ' s winner of the triangular series between Army , Navy , and Air Force , will be at stake in this game . For most of the 1970s , Navy had held the trophy . After a period of flux for most of the 1980s , Air Force dominated the competition until the early 2000s . Navy has been the dominant team in the rivalry for most of the 2000s , winning every game in the triangular rivalry starting with the 2002 Army – Navy Game and ending with a 2010 loss to Air Force . If there is a tie in the Commander - In - Chief Trophy competition , the trophy remains with the incumbent team . The rivalries Army and Navy have with the Air Force Academy are much less intense than the Army - Navy rivalry , primarily due to the relative youth of the Air Force Academy and the physical distance between Air Force and the other two schools , with Air Force Academy being located in Colorado Springs . The Army - Air Force and Navy - Air Force games are played at the academies ' regular home fields , rather than at a neutral site , although Navy has occasionally moved its home games with Air Force to FedEx Field in Landover , Maryland . The 34 - 0 Navy victory over Army on December 6 , 2008 , was the first shutout in the series since 1978 and marked the second time a Navy coach defeated Army in his first year of coaching , following Wayne Hardin in 1959 . Navy is amidst the longest unbroken string of wins , having won all 10 games from 2002 - 2011 . Venues . Though the game has been played 112 times , only 6 of those games were held on the campus of either academy . Neither team ' s home stadium is nearly large enough to accommodate the large crowds that usually attend the game , as well as the media and dignitaries . Army ' s Michie Stadium only seats 38 , 000 people , while Navy ' s Navy - Marine Corps Memorial Stadium only seats 34 , 000 . For all but a few years since 1899 , it has been played at a neutral site . Traditionally , the game is played in Philadelphia , due to the historic nature of the city and the fact that it is approximately halfway between West Point and Annapolis ( and that it has a venue which can hold the attendees ) . Philadelphia ' s John F . Kennedy Stadium ( JFK ) hosted the game from 1936 to 1979 ( except for three years in World War II ) - - more than any other venue in the history of the series . It even hosted the game for several years after the 1971 construction of nearby Veterans Stadium , which finally became the game ' s host in 1980 . Franklin Field , on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania , hosted the game in the early twentieth century before it was moved to JFK . New York ' s Polo Grounds holds the record for most games hosted outside of Philadelphia , even though the last time it hosted one was 1925 . The city of Baltimore has hosted a number of games throughout the history of the series as well , even though Baltimore is closer to Annapolis . The Rose Bowl is the only site west of the Mississippi River to host the Army - Navy game ; it did so in 1983 . The city of Pasadena , California , paid for the travel expenses of all the students and supporters of both academies — 9 , 437 in all . A substitute , however , for Bill XXII — the Navy mascot — and four rented Army mules were brought in . The attendance was 81 , 000 . The game was held at the Rose Bowl that year because there are a large number of military installations and servicemen and women , along with many retired military personnel , on the West Coast . The game has been held one other time in a non - East Coast venue , at Chicago ' s Soldier Field , which played host to the 1926 game . Currently the game is played primarily at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia , the home of the Philadelphia Eagles . Since 1989 , the game has been held roughly every four or five years at a site other than Philadelphia . These sites have in the past rotated between Giants Stadium in East Rutherford , New Jersey ( replaced in 2010 by MetLife Stadium ) and M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore . These are still considered neutral - site games , but provide locations that are closer to one academy or the other . Future venues . In 2008 , a bidding process began for the game site , as well as a search for a corporate sponsor . In 2009 , the Army – Navy Game was moved to the second Saturday of December . The move means the game will not be played simultaneously with any conference championships and will make it the final game of the Division I FBS regular season . The 2009 game was held on December 12 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia . CBS recently continued television coverage of the Army – Navy Game with a contract extending through 2018 . On June 9 , 2009 , Navy announced sites for all Army – Navy Games through 2017 . The 2011 game was held at FedEx Field in Landover , Maryland ; the 2014 and 2016 games will be at M & T Bank Stadium ; and all other games during that period will be at Lincoln Financial Field . Notable games . Navy Midshipman ( and later Admiral ) Joseph Mason Reeves wore what is widely regarded as the first football helmet in the 1893 Army – Navy Game . He had been advised by a Navy doctor that another kick to his head would result in " instant insanity " or even death , so he commissioned an Annapolis shoemaker to make him a helmet out of leather . On November 27 , 1926 , the Army – Navy Game traveled to Chicago for the National Dedication of Soldier Field as a monument to American servicemen who had fought in World War I . Navy came to the game undefeated , while West Point had only lost to Notre Dame , so the game would decide the National Championship . Played before a crowd of over 100 , 000 , the teams fought to a 21 - 21 tie , but Navy was awarded the national championship . In both the 1944 and 1945 contests , Army and Navy entered the game ranked # 1 and # 2 respectively . The 1945 game was labeled the " game of the century " before it was played . Army defeated a 7 - 0 - 1 Navy team 32 - 13 . Navy ' s lone tie was against Notre Dame .