President Donald Trump will officiate the coin toss before the Army-Navy game on Saturday.
West Point made the announcement on Friday leading to the game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where the No. 22 Black Knights (9-2) play the Midshipmen (3-9).
This will be Trump’s first Army-Navy game as president.
He was at the 2016 game as president-elect.
Of note, Trump received a raucous ovation that year in Baltimore.
Army students were VERY excited to see Trump was in the building pic.twitter.com/MbMZlktVaE
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) December 10, 2016
He will be the 10th sitting president to attend the game, a tradition that began with Theodore Roosevelt in 1901.
Presidents, by custom, sit on the Army side of the stadium for one half and the Navy side for the other.
When Trump attended in 2016, he spent one half in a West Point graduate’s box and the other in the box of retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North.
Army will try to win for the third straight time in the series after losing the previous 14.
The Black Knights won a close 14-13 game in 2017.
The rivalry between the service academies began in 1890.
For the record, Navy holds most of the advantages in the all-time football rivalry between the two schools.
It has the edge in the all-time series record at 60-51-7.
The Midshipmen also hold the series record for largest margin of victory, winning 51-0 in 1973.
Navy also owns the longest win streak in the series, the aforementioned 14-game win streak.
The first meeting in the series was also a resounding 24-0 win for Navy back in 1890.
Via WesternJournal
