What will be on the ground for 2025 Army-Navy game has been in the works for four years.
It’s one of the many aspects that make the Battle of the Military Academies one of college football’s great traditions: the uniforms.
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The special uniforms for the game began modestly in 2008, but have become an intricately patterned spectacle for both teams since 2012.
It’s a helmet, jersey, and pants history lesson, with both branches generally paying homage to the people and moments that defined the U.S. military. The Army and Navy are not only trying to fight on the field, but also in the uniform game.
Alternate uniforms are nothing new in college football; almost every team has different looks and endless combinations to present on the field.
But none of them compare to the Army-Navy. Because these uniforms require years of planning, research, execution, and concealment, resulting in a beautiful narrative that will be on display again when the Black Knights And Midshipmen take the field for the 126th meeting on Saturday, December 13 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
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“We want everything to be perfect,” Greg Morgenthaler, Navy athletic director for equipment operations, told USA TODAY Sports.
Find the uniform
The process of designing the uniform for the Army-Navy game begins two years prior, with each academy meeting with its respective apparel company. The Army has Nike and the Navy has Under Armor
However, the 2025 game is special. In 2021, while planning the 2023 uniforms, Morgenthaler recalled letting Under Armor know that 2025 would mark the 250th anniversary of the Naval Academy. So Under Armor had time to think about this year’s uniforms, and plans were finalized around June 2024, 18 months before the game. The two teams decided to honor the 250 years of their branch.
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From there, clothing companies get to work. The first part is to do research to determine what should be included in the uniform and is represented accurately. Next, a mood board is created with images and colors that the teams want to draw inspiration from. After that, a branding toolkit is created for the other garments.
Throughout the process, the academies do their own work. Army football equipment director Thomas Cancalosi said the history department reviews its own research to make sure things are accurate. The Army and Navy noted that clothing companies stay in touch throughout the process, not only to make sure the product looks good, but also makes sense. There were times when the designs were a little extreme, Morgenthaler said, but the final product always excited the team.
For the Navy, this year’s uniform is inspired by the USS Constitution, the only remaining of the six frigates that made up the First Fleet. The faded blue primary color comes from the sailors’ uniform and the copper helmet represents the ship’s copper cladding, the tradition of coins placed under the mast, and the Save “Old Ironsides” campaign in 1924, when students from across the country donated coins to fund the restoration of the USS Constitution. These are just a few of the many elements involved in each team’s uniform.
Navy uniform for the 2025 Army-Navy game, which honors the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy.
“You want to make sure that everything you put on a uniform or in a design has meaning and purpose, not just because it looks cool,” said Colby Smith, Under Armor team sports graphic designer. “We approach the design itself and do a few checkpoints along the way, and usually we do about two or three revisions to the uniform before it’s finally approved.”
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Once the uniform is approved, perhaps the hardest part comes: keeping it secret.
Keep it secret
About two miles from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, there is a warehouse. From the end of August, it became another top secret military base, but no documents arrived.
This is equipment from the Army-Navy game, but it might as well be classified files. For all the work that goes into creating the uniform, it takes just as much, if not more, to make sure it doesn’t come out sooner than expected.
The circle of trust is limited on the project. Smith said about eight to 10 people at Under Armor knew about it and didn’t reveal it to uninvolved people.
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“Loose lips sink ships, so we try to keep all ships afloat,” he said.
December 14, 2024; Landover, Maryland, United States; Army and Navy line up at the line of scrimmage during the second half of the 125th Army-Navy game at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
The same goes for the Navy and Army. Equipment personnel must do their best to ensure there are no leaks and only they know the appearance. In some ways, they are the most powerful people on the show.
“You really have to trust the people who work with you, that they’re not going to open their mouths and take pictures,” Morgenthaler said. “There are plenty of hiding places.”
The players don’t contribute to it either. From the start of summer camp, Morgenthaler and Cancalosi said they were constantly asked questions about themselves. Team members want to know what the theme will be or what it will look like.
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This happens at least once a day at West Point as anticipation continues to build until release day.
“They’re going to try to take it away from you,” Cancalosi said. “But I’ve been here seven years now, and they haven’t come out of me yet.”
The reason it remains kept behind closed doors is mainly because neither team wants the public to see it. It is intended for academies and when they want to show off their teams and fans. The last thing anyone wants is for someone to leak something with such special meaning.
All the secrecy pays off in the end. Just a few weeks before the match comes the exciting part. Teams gather and are presented with the history of their uniform. After learning about it, it is revealed to the players, a moment that always arouses enthusiasm. According to Morgenthaler, seeing the reactions is “probably the best part” of his job.
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Make the military proud
While the college football world will be able to see the uniforms on the field and be impressed by all the details, it’s important to remember that it’s not really for them. Cancalosi said the ultimate goal is to gain the approval of everyone who has been, is or will be a soldier, including those in the field.
He noted that this year’s uniforms, which are made of marble to represent the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery and bear purple-framed numbers for George Washington’s military merit badge, now the Purple Heart, truly represent the ultimate sacrifice every soldier makes in his service.
“Members of the United States military, if they are proud of the product that we created, then we did our job to the fullest,” he said.
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It’s the same mindset in clothing companies, which is why Smith considers it an “honor and privilege” to be part of such a unique project. It’s a long process with so many details to execute, but it’s rewarding to see how proud the players and academies are of it.
Shortly after the game ends, the process begins again. The uniforms and theme for the 2026 game are already set, so 2027 is currently being developed. As with all iterations of the game, no one plans to reveal any details about what’s to come, except for Smith who notes that Under Armor is still trying to outdo itself.
But we know it will be an extraordinary way to tell the story of the Army and Navy. There’s no other game like it, and the long journey it takes for the uniform to appear on the field is what makes Morgenthaler call it “the coolest show on television.”
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Army-Navy Game uniforms are kept secret and take years to make
