Sen. Sullivan isn’t happy about schedule conflicts with Army-Navy football game

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - It’s a move that mirrors the rivalry of the Army-Navy game that now involves more than 55 members of Congress, including Alaska’s Sen. Dan Sullivan.

For the first time since 2009, other college football games have been scheduled on the same day as “America’s Game,” not including 2020 when the season was modified because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Sullivan’s office.

Sullivan said Thursday that he isn’t happy.

“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,” Sen. Sullivan and his fellow Congressional members wrote in a letter to the executive directors of the College Football Playoff and Bowl Season.

Sullivan, along with 55 members of Congress and two senators-elect, signed on about their concerns.

“The game is so important that it continued to be played even during World War II,” the letter stated. “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.”

Saturday’s schedule currently includes three football matchups: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State at 8 a.m. Alaska Standard Time, South Alabama vs. Western Michigan at 5 p.m. AKST, and the traditional Army-Navy game at 11 a.m. AKST.

Sullivan said he’s concerned the additional games detract from the focus on the Armed Forces.

“The airtime of those pregame events are now in jeopardy with a preceding televised college football game,” the letter stated. “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.”

According to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, there are 82 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who are veterans.

The Military Times reports that 188 candidates with military experience won primaries for House and Senate seats in this year’s election. That is down from 2022 and follows a trend of fewer veterans winning national elected office since the 1970s.

Sullivan, the last actively-serving Marine in the U.S. Senate, retired from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Feb. 1, 2024.

According to the state, Alaska has a higher share of veterans than any other state at 10%.

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