WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), 54 congressional colleagues, and two senators-elect sent a letter to the executive directors of the College Football Playoff and Bowl Season asking that they preserve the annual Army-Navy football game’s “time-honored tradition” of setting “aside the second Saturday in December in future seasons solely” for the patriotic sporting event.
“The Army vs. Navy Football Game – affectionately known as “America’s Game” – has long been recognized as one of the greatest events in all of college sports,” wrote the members. “The game is so important that it continued to be played even during World War II. Citizens throughout the world look forward to the game’s telecast, which engages the interest of millions of Americans, including the hundreds of thousands of current and former military personnel who watch it. The game is always played in a sold out NFL venue and brings patriotism and pageantry to the fans in the stadium and to the people of the host city. To reflect the immeasurable esteem that this event garnered for decades, it has been played for many years on a Saturday reserved specifically for the Army vs. Navy Game without any competing college football events.”
“We write out of concern that the additional games detract from the focus on our Armed Forces that the nationally televised Army vs. Navy Game provided with a unique day set aside for it. Young Americans often cite the pregame events as igniting their interest in serving in uniform. The airtime of those pregame events are now in jeopardy with a preceding televised college football game,” continued the members. “We feel there is no other block of time in television programming that rekindles our nation’s patriotism, unity, and confidence in the military and promotes a greater sense of appreciation than this incredible game day production. On behalf of both Army and Navy, all those who are serving or have served our country and the citizens whom we represent, we respectfully request you set aside the second Saturday in December in future seasons solely for the Army vs. Navy Game to preserve this time-honored tradition.”
Cassidy and Sullivan were joined by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Joe Manchin (I-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Angus King (I-ME), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Krysten Sinema (I-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Peter Welch (D-VT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jim Risch (R-ID), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Boozman (R-AR), Senators-elects David McCormick (R-PA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and U.S. Representatives Robert Wittman (R-VA-01), Mike Garcia (R-CA-27), Pat Ryan (D-NY-18), Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06), James Moylan (R-GU-AL), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Nick LaLota (R-NY-01), Austin Scott (R-GA-08), Jack Bergman (R-MI-01), Scott Franklin (R-FL-18), Cory Mills (R-FL-07), Tom Kean, Jr. (R-NJ-07), Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Keith Self (R-TX-03), Joe Courtney (D-CT-02), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-02), Dutch Ruppersberg (D-MD-02), Mike Lawler (R-NY-17), Rich McCormick (R-GA-06), Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23), Jeff Duncan (R-SC-03), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), Troy Nehls (R-TX-22), and Ryan Zinke (R-MT-01).
Read the full letter here or below:
Dear Mr. Clark and Mr. Carparelli:
The Army vs. Navy Football Game – affectionately known as “America’s Game” – has long been recognized as one of the greatest events in all of college sports. The game is so important that it continued to be played even during World War II. Citizens throughout the world look forward to the game’s telecast, which engages the interest of millions of Americans, including the hundreds of thousands of current and former military personnel who watch it.
The game is always played in a sold out NFL venue and brings patriotism and pageantry to the fans in the stadium and to the people of the host city. To reflect the immeasurable esteem that this event garnered for decades, it has been played for many years on a Saturday reserved specifically for the Army vs. Navy Game without any competing college football events.
As you know, college commissioners voted unanimously to schedule the twelve-team College Football Playoff (CFP) around the Army vs. Navy Football Game. The decision demonstrated a significant degree of respect extended by the most prominent leaders in college football, which we strongly commend. Nevertheless, the expanded CFP will cause other bowl games—for the first time in recent history—to be played on the same day as the Army vs. Navy Game.
We write out of concern that the additional games detract from the focus on our Armed Forces that the nationally televised Army vs. Navy Game provided with a unique day set aside for it. Young Americans often cite the pregame events as igniting their interest in serving in uniform. The airtime of those pregame events are now in jeopardy with a preceding televised college football game. We feel there is no other block of time in television programming that rekindles our nation’s patriotism, unity, and confidence in the military and promotes a greater sense of appreciation than this incredible game day production.
On behalf of both Army and Navy, all those who are serving or have served our country and the citizens whom we represent, we respectfully request you set aside the second Saturday in December in future seasons solely for the Army vs. Navy Game to preserve this time-honored tradition.
We would like to thank you in advance for recognizing the importance of safeguarding the exclusivity of the Army vs. Navy Game and are hopeful we can work together to protect America’s Game.
###