2009 ARMY FOOTBALL ARMY FOOTBALL A to Z CBS SPORTS For the 14th straight year, CBS Sports will televise the Army-Navy Classic to a national audience in December. This year’s game will be played Dec. 12 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The network signed a 10-year broadcast extension last fall and will televise the game nationally through the 2018 season.
CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK
BLACK KNIGHTS ALLEY BOBBLEHEAD The Army Athletic Association will produce bobblehead dolls to help celebrate the careers of two of West Point’s all-time football greats this fall. A Joe Steffy bobblehead doll will be distributed to help celebrate the retirement of the 1947 Outland Trophy winner’s uniform number 61 on Sept. 19. Three weeks later, on Oct. 10, a Felix “Doc” Blanchard bobblehead will be handed out in conjunction with the retirement of the 1945 Heisman Trophy winner’s No. 35 game jersey. The items will be distributed to the first 5,000 fans attending each of those games. Pete Dawkins was the first Army player to have a bobblehead likeness produced by the AAA. The figure was distributed in conjunction with the retirement of the 1958 Heisman winner’s No. 24 game jersey on Pete Dawkins Day, Oct. 25, 2008.
BOWLS Army sports a 2-2 record in four postseason bowl appearances. The Black Knights made their first postseason appearance in the 1984 Cherry Bowl, defeating Michigan State 10-6. Army’s four postseason appearances have been decided by a total of 10 points. All four games have been decided by four points or less.
C•C•C•C•C•C CADET COLORS There is great significance to the Cadet colors of black, gold and gray. The components of gunpowder are charcoal, saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and sulfur, which are black, gold and gray in color.
CAGLE, CHRIS Chris “Red” Cagle gained All-America honors three times during the 1920s, the first Army player to achieve that feat during his career.
CAMPBELL, CALEB Caleb Campbell became the first Army football player selected in the National Football League draft since 1997 when he was chosen by the Detroit Lions with the 11th pick of the seventh round (the 218th overall selection) in the 2008 NFL Draft.
CBS College Sports Network and the Army Athletic Association recently reached an exclusive five-year agreement, guaranteeing live television coverage of every Army home football game and select neutralsite games in which Army is the home team, on CBS College Sports Network, beginning with the 2010 season and continuing through 2014. The deal was announced by Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports, and Kevin Anderson, Director of Athletics at West Point, at a Yankee Stadium press conference on July 22, 2009. A major component of the agreement assures that all Army home football games will be played on Saturday afternoons beginning at either noon or 3:30 p.m. eastern time with all kickoff times to be set by May 1 each year. Additionally, a live web stream of all Army’s home broadcasts will be made available free of charge to U.S. Army personnel around the world via CBS College Sports XXL, the network’s multi-media streaming platform.
CHERRY BOWL Army defeated Michigan State 10-6 in the inaugural Cherry Bowl in 1984. The game was played in the Pontiac Silverdome. This year marks the 25th anniversary of that season.
CLASS THE STARS FELL UPON West Point’s Class of 1915 is affectionately known as the “Class the Stars Fell Upon.” There were 164 graduates that year at West Point and an incredible 61 (or 37.2%) went on to attain the rank of general officer. Thirteen cadets in the Class of 1915 earned a varsity “A” in football and of those, nine went on to become general officers (69.2%). Some of the country’s most influential leaders of the 20th century were contained in the class, names like Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, James Van Fleet, Vernon Prichard, Leland Hobbs, Walter Hess, Thomas Larkin, Hubert Harmon and Roscoe Woodruff. All earned at least one varsity letter on West Point’s gridiron.
CINCINNATI Following 1,011 non-conference games, Army played its first league contest versus Cincinnati on Sept. 19, 1998. The Black Knights spent 108 years as a Division I-A Independent before joining the ranks of Conference USA.
CIVIL WAR Best-selling author John Feinstein chronicled the 1995 campaigns of both Army and Navy, culminating with the season-ending battle between the two academies, in a novel titled “A Civil War.” The book is widely regarded as the pre-eminent work in providing an inside look at the storied service academy rivalry.
COACH E’S ARMY For the bargain price of $99, fans can purchase a full season ticket (includes admission to all six home games this fall) located in the lower deck of Michie Stadium, a parking pass for the entire season along with a special “Coach E’s Army” T-shirt.
www.goARMYsports.com
COLLEGE GAMEDAY In recognition of the United States service academies, ESPN’s popular College GameDay show originated live from West Point, N.Y., on Sept. 27, 2003, when Army hosted Conference USA rival South Florida. With a patriotic theme and the storied grounds of the Military Academy providing a historic backdrop, the nation’s premier Saturday morning college football preview show debuted at West Point, making only the third trip to one of the country’s service academies.
COMMANDER IN CHIEF’S TROPHY Named in honor of the President of the United States as commander in chief of the armed forces, the Commander in Chief’s Trophy is awarded annually to the winner of the round-robin football competition between Army, Navy and Air Force. The three-sided structure weighs 170 pounds, stands 2 1/2 feet tall and is engraved with the seal of each academy.
CONFERENCE USA After 108 years as a Division I-A Independent, Army became a member of Conference USA in 1998. In another change of direction, the Black Knights’ football program returned to Division I-A Independent status seven years later (2005).
D•D•D•D•D•D DAVIS, GLENN “Mr. Outside,” Glenn Davis, teamed with “Mr. Inside,” Felix “Doc” Blanchard, to form one of the most heralded backfields in the history of college football. A three-time All-America selection, Davis captured the Heisman Trophy in 1946, one year after Blanchard copped the honor. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1961 and was a member of the charter class elected to the Army Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Davis’ legendary uniform number 41 was officially retired by the Army Athletic Association in 2004.
DAWKINS, PETE Pete Dawkins, who served as Brigade Commander of the Corps of Cadets, became the third West Pointer to win the Heisman Trophy when he earned the award in 1958. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1975 and was a member of the charter class elected to the Army Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Dawkins’ legendary uniform number 24 was officially retired by the Army Athletic Association on Oct. 25, 2008, as the West Point celebrated “Pete Dawkins Day.”
DRAMATIC ARMY-NAVY FINISHES Eight of 10 Army-Navy football matchups during the decade of the 1990s were decided by 10 points or less, including an incredible five-game stretch that was decided by a total of 10 points. Army captured all five of those verdicts, with the outcome not decided until the game’s final moments in each case.
“DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY” Three attributes of paramount importance to a soldier are Duty, Honor, Country. Each is equally important. Together these words form the motto of the U.S. Military Academy.
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