Army vs Navy 2027 football game shifted a week earlier due to new CFP format
· Yahoo Sports
With the college football world about to settle into a new 24-team playoff era starting next year, the winds of change have blown the Army-Navy Game back into its former nesting spot.
The 2027 Army-Navy Game, set for Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, has been moved one week earlier, from Dec. 11 to Saturday, Dec. 4. The mid-afternoon rivalry game will still be a standalone among any other NCAA Div. I contests and still televised by CBS Sports.
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The first Saturday in December had been the assigned Army-Navy date for decades before it was shifted to the second Saturday starting in 2009, mainly due to the rest of college football encroaching on the first Saturday with non-league games and the emergence of conference championship games. In this new 24-team CFP deal, those money-making title games will slip into history after this season.
The shift of the Army-Navy date was precipitated by the College Football Playoff finally agreeing to its new, expanded 24-team field. Next year, the eight first-round contests (set for the home stadiums of higher seeds) are expected to be held Dec. 9, 10 and 11, a Thursday-through-Saturday slate.
One benefit of the change is both academies would still be eligible for the single automatic CFP bid among the Group of 6 conference schools and the 19 at-large bids that will be extended.
"We are thankful to the city of Philadelphia and Lincoln Financial Field for their efforts to manage the date change of the 2027 Army-Navy Game to ensure the game is played in its exclusive time slot on CBS,'' said Tom Theodorakis, Army's athletics director. "As we look ahead to future games, we are excited about the opportunity to build on our strong foundation and secure new commitments that demonstrate a share passion to grow the game and drive economic impact in those cities.''
The 127th edition of the Army-Navy Game will be Saturday, December 11, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The future dates and host sites beyond 2027 have yet to be determined, though this announcement should move along the bid process rather quickly.
President Trump was one of the advocates for preserving the standalone nature of the Army-Navy Game, which celebrates the great military tradition of the academies and national patriotism. Officials from both academies and members of both football teams had also expressed a strong desire to preserve the exclusive time slot and also remain eligible for the CFP.
"We appreciate the flexibility of the people of Philadelphia to accommodate this date change and we applaud the collaboration between the city of Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field and the academies,'' said Michael Kelly, Navy's athletics director. "We are also extremely grateful to the CFP leadership for their collaboration. Finding a way to preserve the exclusive broadcast window for America's Game while ensuring our program has a rightful path to compete in the College Football Playoff is a tremendous outcome for our student-athletes and fans across the country.''
The Group of 6 conferences (American; Conference USA; Mid-American; Mountain West; Pac-12; Sun Belt) long lobbied to have at least one representative remain in the expanded CFP. The top-ranked school among that membership will get an automatic bid and the rest would be eligible for an at-large berth, though most experts believe the non-champs from the Power 4 leagues (Atlantic Coast; Big Ten; Big 12; Southeastern) will gobble up those spots.
A 12-2 Army team that won the American Conference title was remarkably in consideration for the 2024 CFP, the first year the playoff was expanded to 12 teams, but it was Boise State that got the berth.
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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army vs Navy 2027 football game shifted a week earlier due to new CFP format