President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday aimed at reserving the Army-Navy football game’s traditional December TV window exclusively for the service academies.
Trump presented the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Navy football team at the White House, recognizing their series win over Army and Air Force.
The directive seeks to block other college football games from airing simultaneously with Army-Navy, traditionally held on the second Saturday in December.
“Nobody’s going to play football for four hours during that very special time of the year, in December,” Trump said. “It’s preserved forever for the Army-Navy game.”
The order comes as college sports leaders eye College Football Playoff expansion, with some proposals floating Army-Navy date shifts.
Does President Trump’s executive order impact the Celebration Bowl?
The annual Celebration Bowl is played between the champions of the MEAC and SWAC on the second Saturday in December. FCS playoff and FBS bowl games are also played on that day.
Some college football observers wondered what would it mean for the Celebration Bowl or FCS postseason games.
Though it is unclear whether the executive order will affect the HBCU championship game, John T. Grant, executive director of the Celebration Bowl, told HBCU Sports on Friday that the president’s declaration likely wouldn’t impact the event because it is televised during a broadcast window hours before Army-Navy on CBS.
According to the 2026 regular season of both Army and Navy, their Dec. 12 matchup is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
The Celebration Bowl has been played at noon ET since its inception in 2015.
Before the 2024 Celebration Bowl, the date was moved from the third Saturday to the second weekend to protect its exclusive TV window.
It was a move referred to as “a game-changer” by Grant.
“By aligning with the start of the college football bowl season and avoiding the expansion games of the college football playoffs and NFL, the Celebration Bowl has carved its own niche in the bowl season calendar, Grant said.
The 2025 Celebration Bowl, won by South Carolina State in a four-overtime thriller versus Prairie View, drew 2.3 million viewers, its largest audience since 2022.
Is the executive order legal?
It’s not really clear whether this order is legal or even enforceable, since executive orders only apply to federal agencies and the executive branch.
In this case, it says the FCC will team up with the CFP committee, the NCAA, and media partners to protect the Army–Navy game’s time.
