Army-Navy football game no longer stand-alone matchup in new bowl schedule

Another college football tradition bites the dust as the annual Army-Navy game will no longer be its own date on the schedule amid changes to the bowl calendar.

Scenes from the historic Army-Navy college football rivalry game. / USA Today | Imagn

The Army-Navy game remains one of the great traditions in college football, so historic that it always gets its own day on the schedule late in the year, but that's about to change.

As an effect of the expanded College Football Playoff and the new bowl schedule, the Army-Navy Game will be played on the same day as two postseason games this coming December.

Army-Navy will share Sat., Dec. 14 with the Celebration Bowl, which kicks off at 12 p.m. Eastern and with the Camellia Bowl, set for 9 p.m. Eastern that night.

Army and Navy will square off in its usual 3 p.m. Eastern time slot that day.

Read More: 2024-25 College Football Bowl Schedule

Bowl Season director Nick Carparelli explained the reasons for the change.

"Obviously the expanded College Football Playoff is going to add another level of excitement to our postseason," Carparelli said.

"With the opening-round games being played on that Saturday that had traditionally been reserved for the first day of bowl season, we were forced to move some games to the week prior to that, notably two games on Dec. 14, which were scheduled around the Army-Navy game."

He added: "It was very important to us that we protected that time slot but at the same time providing a full day of college football, which I think our fans will enjoy."

Those aren't the only college football-related events taking place on Dec. 14 of this year: the Heisman Trophy is also scheduled to be awarded at 8 p.m. Eastern the same night.

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