Jeff Monken recommends Army vs. Navy game be moved to Thanksgiving weekend

Army head coach Jeff Monken believes the historic Army-Navy Game may need to move on the calendar. The idea is to preserve both the relevance of the game and the evolving College Football Playoff structure.

With the CFP eyeing a schedule shift that would push the postseason up to avoid stretching into late January, Monken suggested relocating the rivalry matchup to Thanksgiving weekend. With one caveat, though, the game’s signature exclusivity must remain intact.

“There’s not an appetite for the college football season to go all the way to the end of January,” Monken told The Athletic via Awful Announcing. “There’s a real hope that we can get this thing into one semester, and have the championship game around Jan. 1, which I think would be awesome.”

Alas, the Army-Navy Game was typically played the first weekend in December prior to 2009. In recent years, it’s occupied its own standalone slot following conference championship weekend, complete with a four-hour exclusive television window. Of course, that’s rare in today’s crowded media landscape.

Monken isn’t opposed to moving the game. But he feels that the window must remain protected if the game does indeed move.

“Give us a four-hour block on Thanksgiving, or on Friday of Thanksgiving, or on Saturday of Thanksgiving, and give us a four-hour block, and just say nobody else plays during this four-hour block,” Monken added. “That’s still protecting the game. I think Army-Navy is a huge part of the history of college football, and what it is today, even.”

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It all sounds well and good. However, the challenge is logistics. Per usual, Thanksgiving Day features a full slate of NFL games. On the other hand, Black Friday has increasingly become a football property of its own, with both college and pro matchups occupying valuable television real estate.

By Saturday, the college football regular season reaches a rivalry crescendo. Then, Sunday belongs to the NFL. Regardless, conversations appear to be underway for a move.

According to a December report from the Sports Business Journal via Awful Announcing, administrators from both service academies have held early-stage discussions about how an expanded playoff could impact the game’s standalone positioning in mid-December.

There have even been political rumblings. In January, President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order to protect the Army-Navy game’s exclusive four-hour window. Questions remain about how enforceable such a move would be, though.

All told, the core priority is simple for Monken, as he wants to preserve the tradition while adapting to a changing landscape in college football. If the playoff calendar shifts, the Army-Navy Game may have to move with it, but it doesn’t want to move without the spotlight.