Army football opens spring ball on March 6, spring game April 17

Army football will open spring practice on Friday, March 6, and conclude with the annual Black/Gold spring game on Friday, April 17.

NCAA teams are permitted to hold 15 spring practices, with most schools utilizing the final session as a scrimmage. West Point will utilize six March dates (March 6-25) ahead of the Academy's annual spring break. Practices will resume once the cadets return, with five sessions from April 7-15. The first 14 practices – likely to be held on the two outdoor fields alongside the Foley Athletic Center, adjacent to Michie Stadium – will be closed to the public.

The annual Black/Gold spring game will be the final session, on Friday, April 17, at Michie Stadium, and will be open to the public – no time has been set as of yet, but you can expect an early evening contest.

This will be the 13th season for Army head coach Jeff Monken, the third as offensive coordinator for Cody Worley and the first for defensive coordinator Daryl Dixon.

Spring football has long been a staple of major college football programs, providing teams with an opportunity to keep players and coaches in practice mode, install new plays and systems and get an early look at the returning junior, sophomore and freshman classes. It is tremendous exposure for younger players who spent the majority of their time on scout teams, and allows for some players to try out new positions.

“There’s a lot of guys that played on the scout team this past fall that will really get a chance to kind of compete for jobs this spring – it’s hard to do that sometimes as a freshman,’’ Monken said ahead of last year's spring camp. “To see those guys get out there and have a chance to compete and really find out who might be able to help us in that class is pretty exciting.’’

Participating players for Army would not include incoming members for the Class of 2030, who will not enter the six-week Beast Barracks cadet training until Reception Day set for late June or early July. At some civilian schools, incoming freshmen have been permitted to practice if they have graduated early from high school.

The current Army football roster has 39 rising seniors; 41 rising juniors; and, 64 rising sophomores. A freshman class in the range of 70 athletes will join the team after Beast Barracks.

Army is coming off a 7-6 season (a year after going 12-2) and 4-4 mark in the American Conference. The Black Knights will have to replace 23 seniors, notably five on the two-deep offense and 10 from the two-deep defense, including three starting linebackers and three in the defensive secondary.

"Fall" preseason practice has begun in the final week of July each of the past two seasons, due to late-August season openers. With Army's 2026 season opener set for Saturday, September 5, against Bryant, the opening practices may be the first week of August.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

Army football spring dates

Closed practices to public – March 6, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25; spring break; resumption on April 7, 9, 11, 13, 15

Black/Gold spring game – Friday, April 17, at Michie Stadium, time TBD (generally early evening)

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football spring camp opens March 6, spring game on April 17