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Upcoming Army-Navy Game dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Choosing an Army-Navy seat: watch the field and the stands
For the 2026 Army-Navy Game at MetLife Stadium, the best seat is in the lower level along a sideline, in the middle rows rather than the first few. From there you see the March On (the pregame parade of every cadet and midshipman onto the field), the game itself and the two academy blocks in the stands, which are as much a part of the day as the football. If cold is your main worry, the mezzanine club seats are the comfortable alternative.
Kickoff is 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 12, 2026, at the Meadowlands, with CBS televising. The opponents are the two service academies: Army, from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and Navy, from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
MetLife tiers for a cold December afternoon
The Giants and Jets share MetLife Stadium, which holds about 82,500 and is open to the sky. A mid-December kickoff in the Meadowlands can bring cold, wind, rain or snow, and with a 3 p.m. start the fourth quarter will be played after dark.
- 100 level, sections 101 through 149. Closest to the field. Sideline seats here show the March On best. Middle rows clear the benches and sideline crowd that block the view from the front.
- 200 mezzanine. Includes the club sections, which give access to indoor lounges. On a raw afternoon, that warmth is worth a lot.
- 300 upper level. The least expensive tier. End zone seats up here are the most exposed to wind and the farthest from the action.
Seats with a view of the academies
Each academy's student body fills its own large section and stand for the entire game. Seats across the field from those blocks give you the full picture of the crowd, the chants and the uniforms. Wherever you sit, wear layers, gloves and a hat.
The March On, the goat and singing second
Ahead of kickoff, roughly 4,400 West Point cadets and some 4,500 Annapolis midshipmen parade onto the turf in formation, every member of both student bodies. It is the moment many fans come for, so plan to be seated well ahead of kickoff.
- Prisoner exchange. Exchange students who spent the semester at the other academy are ceremonially returned to their own school before the game.
- National anthem. The academies' choirs sing it, not a guest performer.
- Bill the Goat. Navy took a goat as its mascot after winning the first game in 1890, and the goats have lived on a Maryland farm since 1913.
- Alma maters. After the final play, the two teams line up side by side for both schools' songs. The losing school's song comes first and the winner's last, which is why winning is called "singing second."
Ten presidents have watched in person while in office, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. When a president attends, expect tighter screening and longer lines at the gates.
Academy ticket offices, reserved blocks and resale
Each academy handles its own allotment: Army sells through its game-day ticketing site and Navy through its athletics website, with alumni, donors and season-ticket holders generally served first. Big blocks are held for the cadets and midshipmen, so the public pool is smaller than for a typical pro game in that building.
Interest barely changes with win-loss records, so demand is steady from year to year. Resale prices respond to the host city, to whether the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy (the round-robin among the Army, Navy and Air Force academies, given since 1972) is on the line, and whether a president is expected. Lower sideline seats see the heaviest demand; upper-level seats are the easiest to find. Reserved Seat orders come with a 100% guarantee.
Philadelphia, Baltimore, the Meadowlands: the rotation
The game moves around the East Coast. Philadelphia is its traditional home, with 90 of the first 124 games through 2023, across four venues: Franklin Field, JFK Stadium, the Vet and, from 2003, Lincoln Financial Field. The game has also gone to Baltimore, Landover, Foxborough and the New York area.
- 2025: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, a 17–16 Navy win.
- 2026: MetLife Stadium, December 12.
- 2027: Lincoln Financial Field, December 11.
Sites are chosen years ahead but can change, so confirm before you book. The location shapes the crowd: games near Washington or Philadelphia pull heavily from those military communities, and a Meadowlands game brings in a big New York-area crowd as well.
Rail, bus and parking for the Meadowlands
The stadium sits inside the Meadowlands complex in New Jersey, a few miles west of Manhattan.
- NJ Transit. Ride to Secaucus Junction, then take the shuttle train to Meadowlands Rail Station next to the stadium. Buy event fares in the NJ Transit app.
- Bus. The Coach USA 351 Meadowlands Express runs from Port Authority in Manhattan.
- Car. Parking is in stadium lots; leaving the complex after a sellout is slow.
For NFL games in 2025, MetLife permitted a clear bag of 12 by 12 by 6 inches or smaller, a gallon-size clear plastic bag, or a clutch around 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Review the Army-Navy Game site and current stadium policy before game day.
A rivalry that began at West Point in 1890
Army and Navy first played on November 29, 1890, at West Point, and Navy won 24–0. Through 2025 they had met 126 times, with Navy ahead 64–55–7. The game has owned the second Saturday of December since 2009, a week after the league title games, which gives it the national stage alone as the final regular-season game in major-college football. It appears among the bowls on this site, but there are no tie-ins here: it is a regular-season meeting of two academies.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I sit to see the March On?
Lower-level sideline seats at MetLife Stadium, in the middle rows, give the clearest view of the cadets and midshipmen marching onto the field. Be seated well before kickoff.
What day is the 2026 Army-Navy Game?
December 12, 2026, a Saturday. Kickoff is 3 p.m. at MetLife Stadium, on CBS.
Are club seats worth it for Army-Navy?
On a cold December afternoon, the 200-level club seats are worth considering because they include access to indoor lounges.
What does singing second mean?
After the game, both teams sing each academy's alma mater. The winner's song is sung last, so singing second means your team won.
How do I take the train to MetLife Stadium?
Ride NJ Transit to Secaucus Junction, then switch to the event shuttle train, which stops at Meadowlands Rail Station next to the stadium.
Where will the 2027 Army-Navy Game be played?
Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field hosts on December 11, 2027.