Exploring Army football's bowl game history ahead of 2025 Fenway Bowl
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College football bluebloods have taken part in postseason bowl games dating back to the turn of the 20th century.
And even though West Point fielded numerous championship quality teams for decades, the leadership of the U.S. Army and U.S. Military Academy denied its Army football teams from participating in bowl games, citing the primary mission of the Academy was to produce the nation’s finest officers and not celebrate gridiron success.
That mission statement wasn’t always readily accepted by the cadets. One famous incident came in fall 1967 when Army brass would not approve of an invitation to the 1968 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans ― Army was coming off an 8-2 season under coach Tom Cahill.
“It is concluded that accepting any invitation to play in a postseason game would tend to emphasize football to an extent not consistent with the basic mission of the academy, which is to produce career Army officers,” stated Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor.
In protest, the cadets “stole” all the sugar bowls from the Mess Hall, returning them later. “No Sugar Bowl for the Army team; no sugar bowls for the corps” read a sign, with mounds of sugar left on plates. Instead, Louisiana State beat Wyoming on New Year’s Day at Tulane Stadium.
Army claimed national championships in 1914, 1916, 1944, 1945 and 1946, and additionally finished top-10 in the AP poll in 1948 (No. 6), 1949 (No. 4), 1950 (No. 2), 1954 (No. 7) and 1958 (No. 3).
Army football: Put a Cherry on top
Army finally joined the bowl mix in 1984, in year three of coach Jim Young’s transformation of a Black Knights program that had posted six consecutive losing seasons and 10 of the previous 11 years. Army (8-3-1) beat a middling Michigan State (6-6) team, 10-6, in the first of only two Cherry Bowl games played at the Pontiac Silverdome.
“We were honored to be there,” said Army quarterback Nate Sassaman.
Since then, Army has played in a handful of well-established college bowl games, and now the Black Knights will debut in one of the youngest bowl games created.
The fourth Fenway Bowl ― set for the famed Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team ― will be held on Saturday, December 27.
Army followed its first bowl appearance with another in 1985. The Peach Bowl in Atlanta was 17 years old when Army beat Illinois. The Sun Bowl was 53 years old when Army was nipped by Alabama by a point in the 1988 game in El Paso, Texas.
The Independence Bowl joined an expanding postseason in 1976, and Army played in the 21st edition in 1996, falling short 32-29 to Auburn following a furious comeback. The Black Knights also played in the 2024 I-Bowl, beating Louisiana Tech 27-6. The Bulldogs were a late replacement for Marshall, which withdrew after a host of defections to the transfer portal.
The Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, was founded in 2003, and Army has appeared four times, beating SMU in 2010, San Diego State in 2017, Houston in 2018 and Missouri in 2021.
The only other legacy bowl in which Army has appeared was the 2020 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, the 62nd edition. West Virginia held on for a 24-21 victory. The Mountaineers were set to play Tennessee, but the Volunteers withdrew due to cases of COVID-19. Army was a late replacement when a host of Pac-12 teams declined to appear in an Independence Bowl game was that ultimately cancelled.
Army beat North Texas in the seventh Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2016, which is now known as the First Responder Bowl.
Army football coach says games are a reward
Head coach Jeff Monken has led Army to a 5-1 record in bowl games. He has always welcomed the opportunity to compete in the postseason.
Army (6-6) is seeking a winning record for the seventh season under Monken. Connecticut (9-3) is seeking its first 10-win season since 1998 (as a member of NCAA Div. I-AA) and first at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
“It’s an opportunity to play another game,” Monken said, “and for this team, this brotherhood, to be able to go out and play together and have our senior class play one more time, obviously to play for a winning record and play for the opportunity to say we’re a bowl champion.
“I think bowl games are a big deal. I grew up watching them and … I imagined playing in big games like that. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world to play on national TV, on the national stage. During the holidays, everybody’s watching these games, and they matter.”
In all, Army is 8-3 all-time in bowl games. By contrast, Air Force has appeared in 30 bowl games (16-13-1 record), last in 2023; and Navy has appeared in 25 bowl games (13-11-1 record), last in 2024. However, the Midshipmen will face Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
Schools with most bowl appearances
(through games of Dec. 22, 2025)
1. Alabama 78 (46-29-3 record); 2. Georgia 63 (38-22-3); 3. Texas 62 (33-27-2); 4. Ohio State 59 (30-29); 5. Oklahoma 59 (31-27-1); 6. Tennessee 57 (31-26); 7. Louisiana State 56 (31-24-1); 8. Penn State 56 (33-21-2); 9. USC 56 (36-20); 10. Nebraska 54 (27-27)
11. Michigan 53 (24-29); 12. Clemson 51 (27-24); 13. Florida 50 (26-24); 14. Florida State 49 (29-18-2); 15. Auburn 47 (24-21-2); 16. Georgia Tech 47 (26-21); 17. Arkansas 45 (18-24-3); 18. Miami 45 (20-25); 19. Notre Dame 45 (23-22); 20. Texas A&M 45 (20-25)
Schools with fewest bowl appearances
Zero – Massachusetts; One – Charlotte, Delaware, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Monroe, Missouri State; Sam Houston; Two – Texas State; Three – Akron; Jacksonville State; James Madison; Four – Kent State; Old Dominion; Five – Coastal Carolina; Florida Atlantic; Florida International; South Alabama; Six – Georgia State; Liberty; New Mexico State; Alabama Birmingham; Texas San Antonio
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football bowl game history ahead of 2025 Fenway bowl
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