Army Black Knights football

The Army Black Knights football team, historically known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. The Black Knights team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the American Conference. The Black Knights play home games in Michie Stadium with a capacity of 36,000 on the Academy grounds in West Point, New York. The Black Knights are coached by Jeff Monken, who has held the position since 2014.

Army Black Knights football
2025 Army Black Knights football team
First season	1890; 135 years ago
Athletic director	N/A
Head coach	Jeff Monken 12th season, 82–57 (.590)
Stadium	Michie Stadium (capacity: 36,000)
Year built	1924
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	West Point, New York
NCAA division	Division I FBS
Conference	American
Past conferences	Independent (1890–1997, 2005–2023) Conference USA (1998−2004)
All-time record	739–547–51 (.572)
Bowl record	8–3 (.727)
Claimed national titles	5 (1914, 1916, 1944, 1945, 1946)[1]
Conference titles	1 (2024)
Rivalries	Air Force (CiCT) Navy (rivalry, CiCT) Notre Dame (rivalry)
Heisman winners	Doc Blanchard – 1945 Glenn Davis – 1946 Pete Dawkins – 1958
Consensus All-Americans	37
Current uniform
Colors	Black, gold, and gray[2]
Fight song	On, Brave Old Army Team
Mascot	Army Mules
Marching band	United States Military Academy Band
Outfitter	Nike
Website	GoArmyWestPoint.com

Army claims five national championships, including two AP Trophies in 1944 and 1945.^[1] Army has produced 24 players and four coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, 37 consensus All-Americans, and three Heisman Trophy winners: Doc Blanchard (1945), Glenn Davis (1946), and Pete Dawkins (1958).^[3]

With the exception of seven seasons (1998–2004) when the team was a member of Conference USA, Army competed as an independent, meaning that they had no affiliation with any conference. They started to compete in the American Athletic Conference, now known as the American Conference, as a football-only member in 2024. For all other sports Army is primarily a member of the Patriot League.

Army competes with their historic rivals Navy in the Army–Navy Game, traditionally the final game of the college football regular season. The three major service academies—Army, Navy, and Air Force—compete for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy; Army has won the award ten times, most recently in 2023.

History

See also: List of Army Black Knights football seasons and 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game

Army's football program began on November 29, 1890, when Navy challenged the cadets to a game of the relatively new sport. Navy defeated Army at West Point that year, but Army avenged the loss in Annapolis the following year.^[4] The academies still clash every December in what is traditionally the last regular-season Division I college-football game.

Army's football team reached its pinnacle of success during the Second World War under coach Earl Blaik when Army won three consecutive national championships in 1944, 1945 and 1946, and produced two Heisman Trophy winners: Doc Blanchard (1945), Glenn Davis (1946). From 1944 to 1950, the Cadets had 57 wins, 3 losses and 4 ties. During this time span, Army won three national championships.^[5] Army produced a third Heisman trophy winner in 1958 when Pete Dawkins took the honors.^[6]

Past NFL coaches Vince Lombardi^[7] and Bill Parcells^[8] were Army assistant coaches early in their careers.

The football team plays its home games at Michie Stadium, where the playing field is named after Earl Blaik. Cadets' attendance is mandatory at football games and the Corps stands for the duration of the game. At all home games, one of the four regiments marches onto the field in formation before the team takes the field and leads the crowd in traditional Army cheers. Two of the regiments are tasked with performing the morning parade while the last regiment is tasked with ancillary stadium duties.^[9]

For many years, Army teams were known as the "Cadets." In the 1940s, several papers called the football team "the Black Knights of the Hudson." From then on, "Cadets" and "Black Knights" were used interchangeably until 1999, when the team was officially nicknamed the Black Knights. Individual cadets as well as groups of cadets to include the entire team are still often referred to as "Cadet" or "The Cadets" with regard to athletic events.

Between the 1998 and 2004 seasons, Army's football program was a member of Conference USA, but starting with the 2005 season Army reverted to its former independent status.^[10] Army competes with Navy and Air Force for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. In 2024, Army began competing in the American Athletic Conference, renamed in 2025 to American Conference. While Air Force plays in the Mountain West Conference, Navy has been a football member of the American since 2015. The regular season matchup between Army and Navy is contested as a non-conference matchup after the conference championship game and therefore does not affect conference standings.

National championships

Army has won five national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors, including twice (1944, 1945) from the AP Poll.^{[11]: 108–115 [1]}

Year	Coach	Selectors	Record	Final AP	Final Coaches
1914	Charles Daly	Helms, Parke Davis, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation[11]: 111	9–0	–	–
1916		Parke Davis[11]: 111	9–0	–	–
1944	Earl Blaik	AP, Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Houlgate, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin, Williamson[11]: 111	9–0	No. 1	–
1945		AP, Berryman, Billingsley MOV, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Houlgate, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELOChess), Williamson[11]: 112	9–0		–
1946		Billingsley, Boand, Football Research, Helms, Houlgate, Poling[11]: 112	9–0–1	No. 2	–

Conference championships

Season	Conference	Coach	Conference record	Overall record
2024	American Athletic Conference	Jeff Monken	8–0	11–2

Lambert Trophy

The Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (known as the Lambert Trophy), established in 1936, is an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football and is presented by the Metropolitan New York Football Writers. Army has won the Lambert Trophy nine times; seven times under head coach Earl "Red" Blaik in the 1940s and 1950s, and twice under head coach Jeff Monken in 2018 and 2020.^[12][13]

Year	Coach	Record	Final AP rank
1944	Earl Blaik	9–0	#1
1945	Earl Blaik	9–0	#1
1946	Earl Blaik	9–0–1	#2
1948	Earl Blaik	8–0–1	#6
1949	Earl Blaik	9–0	#4
1953	Earl Blaik	7–1–1	#14
1958	Earl Blaik	8–0–1	#3
2018	Jeff Monken	11–2	#19
2020	Jeff Monken	9–3	NR

Bowl games

Army has played in 11 bowl games. They have a record of 8–3.

Season	Coach	Bowl	Date	Opponent	Result
1984	Jim Young	Cherry Bowl	December 22, 1984	Michigan State	W 10–6
1985		Peach Bowl	December 31, 1985	Illinois	W 31–29
1988		Sun Bowl	December 24, 1988	Alabama	L 28–29
1996	Bob Sutton	Independence Bowl	December 31, 1996	Auburn	L 29–32
2010	Rich Ellerson	Armed Forces Bowl	December 30, 2010	SMU	W 16–14
2016	Jeff Monken	Heart of Dallas Bowl	December 27, 2016	North Texas	W 38–31 OT
2017		Armed Forces Bowl	December 23, 2017	San Diego State	W 42–35
2018		Armed Forces Bowl	December 22, 2018	Houston	W 70–14
2020		Liberty Bowl	December 31, 2020	West Virginia	L 21–24
2021		Armed Forces Bowl	December 22, 2021	Missouri	W 24–22
2024		Independence Bowl	December 28, 2024	Louisiana Tech	W 27–6

Future bowl tie-ins

The NCAA's football oversight committee determined the number of primary bowl tie-ins for each FBS conference and FBS independent for the 2020–2025 bowl cycle using eligibility data from the 2014–2017 seasons.^[14] The Black Knights received one guaranteed tie-in per year. On October 24, 2019, the West Point Athletic Department announced that they had agreed to a contract that placed their team, if eligible, in the Independence Bowl for three of the six years, with the remaining years being contracted to an ESPN Events-owned bowl.^[15][16]

The contract includes a clause that allows Army the ability to accept a bid from a different bowl game once during the three-year agreement with the Independence Bowl and once during the three-year agreement with ESPN Events. Aligning with this, on November 5 Army announced that it had agreed to a secondary contractual tie-in with the Duke's Mayo Bowl.^[17] It agreed that it would serve as the primary backup for the bowl and would have the opportunity to accept an invitation to the game twice during the six-year cycle. The Duke's Mayo Bowl's primary tie-ins for the 2020–2025 cycle are the ACC (all years), the SEC (odd years), and the Big Ten (even years); if any of those conferences were unable to place a team into the bowl during any of those years, Army would be extended an invitation to fill their place. The opponent conferences for the Independence Bowl were announced to be the Pac-12 and the American on January 30, 2020.^[18][19]

Season	Bowl	Opponent
2020	Independence Bowl	Pac-12
2021	ESPN Owned and Operated Bowl	–
2022	Independence Bowl	American
2023	ESPN Owned and Operated Bowl	–
2024	Independence Bowl	Pac-12
2025	ESPN Owned and Operated Bowl	–

The Duke's Mayo Bowl can extend an invitation to Army once during the even years (2020, 2022, 2026) and once during the odd years (2021, 2023, 2025) to fill a vacancy as part of a secondary tie-in.

ESPN Events operates the following 16 bowls that Army could be invited to during odd years of the cycle:

• Armed Forces Bowl
• Birmingham Bowl
• Bahamas Bowl
• Boca Raton Bowl
• Cure Bowl
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
• Fenway Bowl
• First Responder Bowl
• Frisco Bowl
• Gasparilla Bowl
• Hawaii Bowl
• Las Vegas Bowl
• Myrtle Beach Bowl
• New Mexico Bowl
• Salute to Veterans Bowl (formerly Camellia Bowl)
• Texas Bowl

Head coaches

Coach	Years	Seasons	Games	Record	Pct.	Bowl Games
Dennis Michie†	1890, 1892	1	6	3–2–1	.583
Henry L. Williams	1891	1	7	5–1–1	.786
Laurie Bliss	1893	1	9	4–5	.444
Harmon S. Graves	1894–1895	2	14	10–4	.714
George P. Dyer	1896	1	6	3–2–1	.583
Herman Koehler	1897–1900	4	33	19–11–3	.621
Leon Kromer	1901	1	8	5–1–2	.750
Dennis E. Nolan	1902	1	8	6–1–1	.813
Edward Leonard King	1903	1	9	6–2–1	.722
Robert Boyers	1904–1905	2	18	11–6–1	.639
Henry Smither	1906–1907	2	10	7–2–1	.750
Ernest Graves, Sr.	1906, 1912	2	16	7–8–1	.469
Harry Nelly	1908–1910	3	22	15–5–2	.727
Joseph Beacham	1911	1	8	6–1–1	.813
Charles Dudley Daly	1913–1916, 1919–1922	8	74	58–13–3	.804
Geoffrey Keyes	1917	1	8	7–1	.875
Hugh Mitchell	1918	1	1	1–0	1.000
John McEwan	1923–1925	3	26	18–5–3	.750
Biff Jones	1926–1929	4	40	30–8–2	.775
Ralph Sasse	1930–1932	3	32	25–5–2	.813
Garrison H. Davidson	1933–1937	5	47	35–11–1	.755
William H. Wood	1938–1940	3	28	12–13–1	.481
Earl Blaik	1941–1958	18	164	121–33–10	.768
Dale Hall	1959–1961	3	29	16–11–2	.586
Paul Dietzel	1962–1965	4	40	21–18–1	.538
Tom Cahill	1966–1973	8	81	40–39–2	.506
Homer Smith	1974–1978	5	55	21–33–1	.391
Lou Saban	1979	1	11	2–8–1	.227
Ed Cavanaugh	1980–1982	3	33	10–21–2	.333
Jim Young	1983–1990	8	91	51–39–1	.566	3
Bob Sutton	1991–1999	9	100	44–55–1	.445	1
Todd Berry	2000–2003	4	41	5–36	.122
John Mumford	2003	1	6	0–6	.000
Bobby Ross	2004–2006	3	34	9–25	.265
Stan Brock	2007–2008	2	24	6–18	.250
Rich Ellerson	2009–2013	5	61	20–41	.328	1
Jeff Monken	2014–present	11	139	82–57	.590	6

† Dennis Michie coached 1 game in 1890, and then coached a full season in 1892.

Rivalries

Commander-in-Chief's Trophy

Main article: Commander-in-Chief's Trophy

Air Force, Army, and Navy have played each other every year since 1972 for the Commander-in Chief's Trophy. Air Force leads the FBS service academies with 21 victories, Navy has 16 victories, and Army has 10 victories, with the trophy being shared 5 times. Navy is the current holder of the trophy.

Air Force

Air Force and Army meet annually and vie for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. Air Force leads Army 38–19–1 through the 2023 season.^[20] In a shocking upset Army defeated Air Force on November 4, 2023, in Denver at Empower Field. Air Force was nationally ranked and undefeated going into the game. Army prevailed 23–3.^[21]

After the Navy–Notre Dame game was canceled in 2020, the Army–Air Force game became the longest uninterrupted intersectional rivalry in college football.

Navy

Main article: Army–Navy Game

Army and Navy play each other annually in the Army–Navy game, which is also a part of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. This series is one of the NCAA's oldest and most traditional rivalries. They first met in 1890, and have played each other annually since 1930. The games are generally played at a neutral site. Navy leads the series 63–55–7 through the 2024 season.^[22]

Notre Dame

Main article: Army–Notre Dame football rivalry

See also: 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game

Notre Dame is a rivalry which some feel ^{[according to whom?]} has fallen into obscurity. In much of the early 20th century, Army and Notre Dame were considered football powerhouses, and met 34 times between 1913 and 1947. Though the rivalry has slowed down, they last met in 2024, with Notre Dame winning 49-14. Many media members considered the 1946 contest to be the "Game of the Century".^[23] Notre Dame leads the series 39–8–4 through the 2018 season.^[24]

Michie Stadium

Main article: Michie Stadium

Michie Stadium, which opened in 1924, is the home stadium of the Army Black Knights in West Point, New York. The stadium is named after the first Army football head coach, Dennis Michie. In 1999, the field was renamed Blaik Field at Michie Stadium in honor of former coach Earl Blaik.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated ranked Michie Stadium the third-best sports venue of the 20th century.^[25]

Traditions

Songs

Main article: On, Brave Old Army Team

Alma Mater is the Army's school song. Army's fight song is "On, Brave Old Army Team". Army also plays other organized cheers; Army Rocket Yell, Black, Gold, and Gray, and USMA Cheer.^[26]

Mascot

Main article: Army Mules

Army's mascots are the Army Mules. While dating back to 1899, they were officially adopted as mascots by West Point in 1936.^[27]

College Football Hall of Fame

Main article: College Football Hall of Fame

The following four individuals have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as coaches.

Name	Position	Years at Army	Inducted
Biff Jones	HC	1926–1929	1954
Earl "Red" Blaik	HC	1941–1958	1964
Jim Young	HC	1983–1999	1999
Henry L. Williams	HC	1891	1951

The following 24 individuals have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as players. Daly and McEwan also served as Army's head coach.

Name	Position	Years at Army	Inducted
Charlie Daly	QB	1901–1902	1951
Chris Cagle	HB	1926–1929	1954
Ed Garbisch	C/OG	1921–1924	1954
Elmer Oliphant	FB	1916–1917	1955
Glenn Davis	HB	1943–1946	1961
John McEwan	C	1913–1916	1962
Doc Blanchard	FB	1944–1946	1964
Paul Bunker	HB/OT	1901–1902	1969
Harry Wilson	HB	1924	1973
Barney Poole	TE/DE	1944–1946	1974
Alex Weyand	OT	1914–1915	1974
Pete Dawkins	HB	1956–1958	1975
Harvey Jablonsky	OG	1931–1933	1978
Bud Sprague	OT	1926–1927	1979
Bill Carpenter	TE	1957–1959	1982
Arnold Galiffa	QB	1947–1949	1983
Doug Kenna	QB	1942–1944	1984
Don Holleder	End/QB	1953–1955	1985
Robin Olds	T	1941–1942	1985
Joe Steffy	OG	1945–1947	1987
John Green	OG	1943–1945	1989
Frank Merritt	OT	1942–1943	1996
Bob Anderson	HB	1957–1959	2004
Arnold Tucker	QB	1945–1946	2008

Other notable players

Main article: Army Black Knights football statistical leaders

President of the United States and General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower and General of the Army Omar Bradley were on the 1912 Army football team. Eisenhower was injured and his football career was over by 1913, when the two future generals were juniors. Bradley, a star of the Army baseball team for four years, was on the field in 1913 when Notre Dame upset Army in a historic college football game in which the forward pass was used for the first time. Bradley played end opposite the legendary Knute Rockne, the Notre Dame end who later coached the Irish to national championships before dying in a plane crash near Bazaar, Kansas, on Easter Friday in 1931.

Retired numbers

See also: List of NCAA football retired numbers

Pete Dawkins (right) and Doc Blanchard, two of the players who have their numbers retired by Army

Army Black Knights retired numbers
No.	Player	Pos.	Tenure	No. ret.	Ref.
24	Pete Dawkins	HB	1956–1958	2008	[28][29]
35	Doc Blanchard	FB	1944–1946	2009	[28][29]
41	Glenn Davis	HB	1943–1946	2005	[29][28]
61	Joe Steffy	G	1945–1947	2009	[29][28]

Award winners

• Heisman Trophy

Doc Blanchard – 1945

Glenn Davis – 1946

Pete Dawkins – 1958

• AFCA Coach of the Year

Earl Blaik – 1946

Tom Cahill – 1966

• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

Tom Cahill – 1966

• Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year

Bob Sutton – 1996

• George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year

Jeff Monken – 2018^[30]

• Vince Lombardi College Football Coach of the Year

Jeff Monken – 2018^[31]

• President's Award

Jeff Monken – 2018^[32]

• ECAC Division I FBS Football Coach of the Year

Jeff Monken – 2021^[33]

• AFCA Division I FBS Assistant Coach of the Year

Sean Saturnio – 2024^[34]

• Maxwell Award

Glenn Davis – 1944

Doc Blanchard – 1945

Pete Dawkins – 1958

• Outland Trophy

Joe Steffy – 1947

• William V. Campbell Trophy

Andrew Rodriguez – 2011^[35]

• James E. Sullivan Award

Doc Blanchard 1945

Arnold Tucker 1946

Andrew Rodriguez – 2011^[36]

• Defender of the Nation Award

Andrew King – 2016^[37]

Arik Smith – 2021^[38][39]

Future schedules

Schedules as of December 18, 2024.^[40]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Tarleton State (FCS)			at Boston College		at Old Dominion	at Middle Tennessee	Old Dominion
at Kansas State	Air Force	at Air Force		Texas State		Cincinnati	at UMass		at Troy
at Air Force	at Wake Forest	at UConn	Air Force	at Air Force	Air Force	at Air Force	Air Force	at Air Force	Air Force
vs. Navy1	vs. Navy2	vs. Navy3	vs. Navy4	vs. Navy4	vs. Navy4	vs. Navy4	vs. Navy4	vs. Navy4	vs. Navy4

1. At M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
2. At MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
3. At Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
4. At TBD

• In 2029 and 2033, Army currently has five non–conference games scheduled, and needs to eliminate one more.

Radio

Radio rights are held by Learfield through Army West Point Sports Properties, a joint venture with the USMA, and are branded on-air as the "Army Sports Network from Learfield". Pamal Broadcasting-owned WGHQ in Kingston, New York serves as the network's flagship station.

Former affiliates (1 station)

• WVKZ/1240: Schenectady

Current broadcast team

Army Sports Network

• Rich DeMarco (play-by-play)
• Dean Darling (color analyst)
• Tony Morino (sideline reporter)
• Joe Beckerle (pre and post-game)

See also

• Emerald Isle Classic