New college playoff in 2026 impacts A-N

[PrideandDream]

All this change is inevitable at this point. Not really sure what to do with the game to make it all work. Might have to just become a regular season game just like Air Force to make it all work. But that won't be without serious repercussions I'm afraid. It's such a unique event and takes so much planning to maximize the revenue opportunity I just don't know where you squeeze it in to make all that work. Maybe it's the weekend before Thanksgiving and the Corps leaves after the game for leave? IDK, but the logistics behind the scenes on this will be remarkable to get it all moved into a spot where it can be a premier game that people travel to including the corps.

Worst part is that this is just the beginning of the change that is coming to college football as we all know.

PD

[gabn92]

Thanksgiving weekend provides 3 days for the Academy leaders and TV networks to figure out how to appropriately highlight the Army-Navy game in a slot to maximize its potential viewership and recognize the history, tradition, etc. Whether it's played at some point on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of that weekend, i don't think it matters much...it's just about how the networks slate the games and negotiating for the best possible slot to feature the game.

I think the issue of leave for the Corps for that weekend is a non-issue. Already mentioned is the option to extend the weekend a little bit and give them Monday or possibly even Monday-Tuesday as time off is certainly one course of action. Another is to minimize time off--perhaps just Thanksgiving day and then just end the semester earlier and give a longer Christmas break. I'm sure the bean-counters at USMA can figure out how to ensure the cadets get the same amount of time off overall, but in different ways to accommodate the changing landscape.

[kfan12]

Personally find it bizarre that people think the one thing that doesn't matter in this equation is the cadets and their families on Thanksgiving. Can definitely tell that we aren't the ones being asked to forego friends and family for a football game. Pretty cavalier with other peoples' lives for entertainment purposes IMO.

[gabn92]

Kfan...did you serve in the military? Just curious based on your take about Thanksgiving. These cadets are active duty Army and holidays and weekends are not a guarantee for them, just as they aren't for any military member. Mission drives requirements that don't always line up with holiday and weekend schedules. Getting cadets time off to rest, recover and have time with families is important, and as I said before, I'm sure there are multiple ways to ensure they get the same amount of time off, if not perhaps on the actual holiday of Thanksgiving.

I think your characterization of the Army-Navy game as "entertainment" grossly undersells it...given the national exposure, the revenue it brings in for the Academy, the history and tradition, it is closer to being a mission critical task than it is to being "just" entertainment.

[Army Frog Fan]

Personally find it bizarre that people think the one thing that doesn't matter in this equation is the cadets and their families on Thanksgiving. Can definitely tell that we aren't the ones being asked to forego friends and family for a football game. Pretty cavalier with other peoples' lives for entertainment purposes IMO.

It's just a meal, my man. We do Thankgiving on random days every year to accommodate when all the family in town can be there. Sometimes the Saturday before, sometimes the Sunday after. It's still special as it would be for these cadets. Frankly I don't care what the Mids think, though.

[kfan12]

Kfan...did you serve in the military? Just curious based on your take about Thanksgiving. These cadets are active duty Army and holidays and weekends are not a guarantee for them, just as they aren't for any military member. Mission drives requirements that don't always line up with holiday and weekend schedules. Getting cadets time off to rest, recover and have time with families is important, and as I said before, I'm sure there are multiple ways to ensure they get the same amount of time off, if not perhaps on the actual holiday of Thanksgiving.

I think your characterization of the Army-Navy game as "entertainment" grossly undersells it...given the national exposure, the revenue it brings in for the Academy, the history and tradition, it is closer to being a mission critical task than it is to being "just" entertainment.

Yes. I served from E-1 to USMAPS to USMA to retirement. I'm a huge Army and collegiate football fan, but USMA's mission is NOT football. Yes, the game has a long history and tradition. It is incomparable to the history, family traditions and participation in Thanksgiving activities in the US.

Personally have no problem with whenever the game occurs, but the last option should be to take away a national holiday from the cadets and their families. Absurd to talk about this as though they don't matter. I'd rather they stick the game in the regular season or leave it where it is than to stick it to the cadets. I'm not sure there is any easy answer, but I know what I wouldn't do.

[kfan12]

Personally find it bizarre that people think the one thing that doesn't matter in this equation is the cadets and their families on Thanksgiving. Can definitely tell that we aren't the ones being asked to forego friends and family for a football game. Pretty cavalier with other peoples' lives for entertainment purposes IMO.

It's just a meal, my man. We do Thankgiving on random days every year to accommodate when all the family in town can be there. Sometimes the Saturday before, sometimes the Sunday after. It's still special as it would be for these cadets. Frankly I don't care what the Mids think, though.

Appreciate the sentiment. There are a lot of families for which it is much more than a meal. Any opportunity to beat the squids is a good opportunity.

[rbmarmy]

Lets start the season a week earlier and the we can end before Thanksgiving. I for one enjoy the warmer days than than the colder ones, And BTW we have now a 2 week break before Air Force, so there is wiggle room. I can remember A/N was always the weekend after T-giving, but once again the family woud not go for a weekend in the City of Brotherly love. Do they still have the Mummers parade?? 27th weekend of rain in a row, not a good omen for autmn afternoons at Michie Stadium

[gabn92]

Personally have no problem with whenever the game occurs, but the last option should be to take away a national holiday from the cadets and their families. Absurd to talk about this as though they don't matter. I'd rather they stick the game in the regular season or leave it where it is than to stick it to the cadets. I'm not sure there is any easy answer, but I know what I wouldn't do.

I can agree that losing some or all of Thanksgiving weekend is a factor that would have to be weighed heavily in course of action analysis. But, you've also got to recognize that Thanksgiving weekend isn't the same for every cadet or family at West Point. For 3 of the years I was a cadet, my family was assigned out west (my father was active duty), so there was no way to go home for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas...so Thanksgiving was spent with classmates and their families who lived closer. I was far from alone being in that boat--a good chunk of the Corps faces the same thing every year and I dare say some (many?) of them might view a longer Christmas break as a better alternative due to the longer travel times to get to the west coast, or further.

It's not a decision to be taken lightly for sure. But, I do see the Thanksgiving weekend as a viable course of action and in reality, probably the only feasible one. To the earlier post about starting a week earlier...I think that puts too much pressure on summer training scheudles and getting the team ready for game #1 and the rest of the season. Giving up an off week in the season comes with risk because it's a long season and having those off weeks to allow players to rest and recover from injuries is always beneficial to the team.

[BlackKnight09]

Good discussion here. I’m with kfan on the idea that, while important, the mission of USMA is not football and we therefore should not willingly take away Thanksgiving weekend from the corps if it can be avoided.

There was someone else in this thread who implied that it is ok to take away leave from the current corps of cadets because they didn’t get it. Frankly, that is bullshit. There is no reason the current generation has to suffer just because someone else did.