Navy Midshipmen, Army West Point Black Knights Have Two of Best Football Stadiums

The Navy Midshipmen and Army West Point Black Knights have stadiums selected amongst the best in the Group of 5.

Kenneth Teape | Feb 14, 2025

Sep 18, 2021; West Point, New York, USA; Army Black Knights tight end Chris Cameron (85) stands between outside linebacker Malkelm Morrison (2) and Markens Pierre (25) as co-captains before the game against the UConn Huskies at Michie Stadium. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

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The 2024 college football season was a massive success for the Navy Midshipmen and Army West Point Black Knights.

Both academies played at an incredibly high level throughout the campaign, as each won double-digit games. Navy reached 10 wins for only the sixth time in program history, finishing one victory short of the single-season record.

Army won 12 games, which was the most in one year and only the fourth time ever that they reached double-digits.

Both teams suffered losses to the national champion runner-up Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Midshipmen also lost to the Rice Owls on the road and Tulane Green Wave at home.

The Black Knight’s only other loss during the campaign was in the annual Army-Navy Game, as Navy won 31-13 to take home the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

Now that both teams are members of the American Athletic Conference, new rivalries can be built. They have proven their style of play can lead to success as two of the best teams in the AAC in 2024.

The Midshipmen went 6-2, while Army ran the table going 8-0. They hosted the championship game at Michie Stadium against the Green Wave, blowing them out 35-14 en route to the AAC title.

It was a tough trip for the New Orleans school to make as the cold weather and physicality that the Black Knights play with certainly played a major role in the team being defeated.

That was their first trip to West Point, one that they and the rest of the AAC will have to get used to making, along with a trip to Annapolis to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The teams who pay visits to those locations are in for an experience, as they offer something different from any other football stadium whether it is in college football or the NFL.

That is a major reason why Chris Vannini of The Athletic named the home field of the Midshipmen and Navy as two of the coolest college football stadiums in the Group of 5 in a recent mailbag.

“Both service academies’ home sites are unlike anything else in the NFL or major college football. I’ve been to Navy, but not for a game.”

The college football writer hasn’t visited every stadium, but seeing both Michie Stadium and Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on the list speaks volumes to the atmosphere and home field advantage created at both places.

Going on the road and winning in either stadium will be a challenge, especially with the unique game plans each team deploys.

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