President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order directing federal officials to shield the traditional Army-Navy Game from broadcast conflicts with the College Football Playoff and other postseason college games.
The order declares that the second Saturday in December has long been reserved exclusively for the event, known as “America’s Game.” It states that recent expansions of the playoffs threaten to dilute national attention on the military service academies.
“For over a century, the Army-Navy Game, known as ‘America’s Game,’ has stood as a symbol of excellence and the American spirit,” the order reads. “Such 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.”
The document establishes a clear policy that “no college football game, specifically college football’s CFP or other postseason games, be broadcast in a manner that directly conflicts with the Army-Navy Game.”
Implementation falls to the Secretary of Commerce and the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. They must work with the CFP Committee, the NCAA, broadcast partners, and other agencies “with the goal of establishing an exclusive window for the Army-Navy Game, during which no other college football game is broadcast.”
The FCC chairman is also directed to examine whether broadcasters’ public-interest obligations require that the Army-Navy Game remain a national service event.
Standard provisions in the order state that it does not impair existing legal authorities, must be carried out in a manner consistent with the law and available funds, and creates no new enforceable rights. Publication costs are assigned to the Department of War.
The order is signed “DONALD J. TRUMP” and dated at the White House on March 20, 2026.
