The Army football team Black Knights will become the newest member of the American Athletic Conference in 2024, giving them a shot at more potential bowl games.
Mike Buddie, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Director of Athletics, made the announcement on Oct. 25.
“I am excited to start the next chapter of Army football. In today’s evolving collegiate athletics landscape, it is great to partner with established, respected programs to secure the future success of Army football,” Buddie said.
He cited new collegiate athletic rules, the growth of the College Football Playoff invitational tournament, and other impacts to college sports as part of the decision to join the conference.
The move will give Army a clearer path to a potential conference championship, which opens up opportunities for more post-season bowl games and television coverage, Buddie added.
West Point has played as an independent football program for nearly all its history, starting in 1890. The lone exception was a seven-season period from 1998 to 2004 when the Academy was a member of Conference USA.
During that period, Army won only 13 games, two of those against its rival, the U.S. Naval Academy.
Don’t worry, the annual Army-Navy Game match up will remain as the final regular season game for the two academies.
In fact, there’s a small chance that the teams could face off twice each season, if they both managed to win a bid to the AAC Conference championship.
That’s because Navy joined the AAC in 2015. Until then, the school, like Army, had operated as an independent for its entire history.
Therefore, if both teams manage to win out during the regular season, they could meet in the conference championship again after their regularly-scheduled second weekend of December date.
“We are honored to welcome Army to the American Athletic Conference. Army’s football program has an iconic national brand with a legacy of success that spans more than a century and is a perfect fit with our conference,” Mike Aresco, AAC commissioner said in an Oct. 25 statement.
Army will continue its TV partnership with the CBS Sports Network through 2028, according to a West Point release. The agreement covers all Army home games.
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