Army Football has announced the installation of a new playing surface for the first time since 2015. The eight years the last turf spent as the surface is the longest tenure since the 1992-2000 carpet was removed. With a new era of Blaik Field beginning, let’s go back to take a look at the different endzones from 1924 until today.

A fresh look at Michie Stadium 👀 pic.twitter.com/a9BUNKfN2k
— ArmyWestPoint Sports (@GoArmyWestPoint) August 11, 2023

Original Surface

Believe it or not, Army Football actually played on the Plain up until 1924.

Army vs. Notre Dame on the Plain in 1922. The West Point Club and Cullum Hall are in the background.

Laid in 1924, the original playing surface at Michie Stadium was simple grass — as all fields were back in the day. The endzones had no design. By the national championship era, however, stripes were added to to create the following look:

Seasons: ?-1963

Surface: Natural Grass

For those unfamiliar, Michie was originally built in a “U” shape with the east side fully open to views of Lusk Reservoir.

View of Michie Stadium from the east, circa 1924.

View of Michie Stadium from the east, circa 1957. The shaded area along the reservoir highlights the portion that would be filled in to accommodate the new East Stands in 1962.

The 1964 season featured a new look for Army football, the first Army-specific endzone at Michie.

Seasons: 1964-1976

Surface: Natural Grass

Aerial view of Michie Stadium in 1970, showing the East Stands addition (1962) and the upper deck addition (1969). The 1960s-style diamond end zone pattern remains visible in this shot.

The first artificial surface was installed at Michie Stadium in time for the 1977 season.

Seasons: 1977-2000

Surface: AstroTurf (1977-1983), SuperTurf (1984-1991), AstroTurf (1992-2000)

By this time, Michie Stadium looked more or less the way we think of it today.

The 2000 “Black Knights” rebrand brought with it a new endzone design. It was the first ever design without grass/green as the primary color.

Seasons: 2001-2007

Surface: AstroPlay

In the 2008 season, Army resurfaced Blaik Field, leaving the black endzones behind.

Seasons 2008-2014

Surface: FieldTurf

The 2015 Nike rebrand brought the new Athena shield logo to the midfield and with it, a new endzone.

Seasons: 2015-2022

Surface: FieldTurf Revolution

Army rebranded with the Athena shield and stenciled text prior to the 2016 season.

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Army-Navy game to be relocated from Philadelphia to Michie Stadium. The carpet was repainted to match the normal Army-Navy Game branding. So for one game, Army’s endzone went back to a primary color of black.