Navy players hold the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. (Photo by James G. Pinsky/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – For the first time since 2012, the winner of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy will be decided in a battle between Army and Navy at Saturday’s 118th Army-Navy Game in Philadelphia. You can watch the game live on News 3 at 3:00pm.
The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is presented annually to the Division I service academy with the best record in the round-robin competition. Last year, Air Force claimed the title and had an opportunity to retain it, despite their 48-45 loss to Navy in October. But after Army’s 27-0 sweep over the Falcons on Nov. 4, the trophy is back up for grabs.
February 1910: Action on the pitch during a British Army vs Royal Navy football match. (Photo by W. G. Phillips/Phillips/Getty Images)
The Midshipmen held the prestigious award just two years ago, but the Black Knights are looking for their first CIC trophy since 1996. The current CIC record is Air Force 20, Navy 15, and Army 6.
“Everybody will be wide-eyed the whole game,” admitted 11th year Navy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo. “It’s just the way it is. This week, we’re just trying to create an atmosphere to get our guys ready for this – realizing it’s going to be a chaotic, frenzied atmosphere unlike any game they’ve played in.”
Last season, Army beat Navy for the first time since 2001 – ending a 15-game losing streak vs. the Midshipmen. Navy leads the all-time series, 60-50-7, including a 44-38-1 mark in Philadelphia and a 10-0 record at Lincoln Financial Field.
The 2017 college football regular season comes to a close on CBS Sports with the 118th edition of the Army-Navy football classic, one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, live from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia at 3:00 PM. Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Allie LaForce call the action for Army-Navy on CBS.
