President Donald Trump issues executive order to establish ‘exclusive window’ for broadcast of Army-Navy game

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday to establish an “exclusive window” for the broadcast of the Army-Navy game.

The order gets ahead of potential College Football Playoff expansion that could conflict with “America’s Game,” a standalone matchup that annually gives the service academies a national spotlight.

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More specifically, there has been discussion about a 16-team CFP that would include two games, one between seeds No. 16 and No. 13 and one between seeds No. 15 and No. 14, on the day of Army-Navy, as previously reported by Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger.

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That said, the CFP will remain at 12 teams for the 2026 season. College football’s conference commissioners failed to agree on an expanded format for the postseason ahead of the Jan. 23 deadline that ESPN set, per Dellenger. ESPN is the sole media rights holder of the CFP and will be through the 2031-32 season.

Next season will be the third in a row in which five conference champions and seven at-large teams will compete for the national title, albeit with some new adjustments to the selection process.

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Further expansion, however, is practically inevitable, with a 16-team format supported by the SEC and a 24-team format favored by the Big Ten. The idea of scheduling more CFP games calls the college football calendar into question, including the sanctity of the Army-Navy game, hence Trump’s executive order.

“Such scheduling conflicts weaken the national focus on our Military Service Academies and detract from a morale-building event of vital interest to the Department of War,” the order reads.

“Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that no college football game, specifically college football’s CFP or other postseason games, be broadcast in a manner that directly conflicts with the Army‑Navy Game.”

The order directs the Secretary of Commerce and FCC chair to coordinate with the CFP committee and the NCAA, among others, with “the goal of establishing an exclusive window for the Army-Navy Game, during which no other college football game is broadcast.”

Friday’s executive order arrives about two months after Trump teased it. In January, he released a statement on Truth Social about protecting the Army-Navy game.

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“Under my Administration, the second Saturday in December belongs to Army-Navy, and ONLY Army-Navy!” he wrote at the time.

Trump added in that post: “On the field, they are rivals, but on the battlefield, they are America’s unstoppable Patriots, defending our Country with tremendous Strength and Heart. We must protect the Tradition, and the Players, who protect us. …”

Friday’s executive order is separate from the one the White House is expected to soon release, with the goal of regulating myriad aspects of college sports, including transfer and eligibility rules.

While an executive order doesn’t need congressional approval, it can be challenged in court.