President Donald Trump\u00a0issued an executive order on Friday to establish an \u201cexclusive window\u201d for the broadcast of the Army-Navy game.<\/p>\n
The order gets ahead of potential College Football Playoff expansion that could conflict with “America’s Game,” a standalone matchup that annually gives the service academies a national spotlight.<\/p>\n
More specifically, there has been discussion about a 16-team CFP that would include two games, one between seeds No. 16 and No. 13 and one between seeds No. 15 and No. 14, on the day of Army-Navy,\u00a0as previously reported by Yahoo\u2019s Ross Dellenger.<\/p>\n
That said,\u00a0the CFP will remain at 12 teams for the 2026 season. College football\u2019s conference commissioners failed to agree on an expanded format for the postseason ahead of the Jan. 23 deadline that ESPN set, per Dellenger. ESPN is the sole media rights holder of the CFP and will be through the 2031-32 season.<\/p>\n
Next season will be the third in a row in which five conference champions and seven at-large teams will compete for the national title, albeit with some new adjustments to the selection process.<\/p>\n
Further expansion, however, is practically inevitable,\u00a0with a 16-team format supported by the SEC and a 24-team format favored by the Big Ten. The idea of scheduling more CFP games calls the college football calendar into question, including the sanctity of the Army-Navy game, hence Trump\u2019s executive order.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch scheduling conflicts weaken the national focus on our Military Service Academies and detract from a morale-building event of vital interest to the Department of War,\u201d the order reads.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccordingly, it is the\u00a0policy of the United States that no college football game, specifically college football\u2019s CFP or other postseason games, be broadcast in a manner that directly conflicts with the Army\u2011Navy Game.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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