Army and Yankee Stadium are synonymous in college football lore, with a proud tradition that stretches decades and includes some of college football’s most iconic games. The Black Knights of the Hudson had some legendary battles with Notre Dame back in the day. While Army has not played at Yankee Stadium since 2014, could the Black Knights make an appearance at a different iconic park?
Late last month, UMass and UConn announced an extension of their ongoing rivalry. While this seemed like small news on the surface, the schools have since revealed that the 2023 game would be at a neutral site at a location to be determined later. Since this will be a UMass home game, there are really only two sites we might see — Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park. Next year’s UMass-UConn game is on Rivalry Weekend. Since UMass did not announce the site right away, well, that seems to indicate that UMass-UConn is probably headed to Fenway.
All of this begs the question, “Why not Army-UMass at Fenway?”
Here's all you need to know heading into our matchup at UMass on Saturday!#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/NCHHUngb7h
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 23, 2022
😤 Ninth in the FBS in 3rd down defense #Flagship🚩 pic.twitter.com/jTobGIpNrS
— UMass Football (@UMassFootball) November 21, 2022
UMass would be wise to play Army at Fenway in the future. The Black Knights are a national draw and would draw at Fenway much better than UConn in all likelihood. For example, UConn played Boston College at Fenway in 2017 and only drew 20,113 fans, a little over half of the stadium’s capacity. Army would likely smash those numbers thanks to New England alumni and its status as a strong national draw. Additionally, the Boston area loves service academy football. Gillette Stadium will host Army-Navy in 2023, and the area is already buzzing about it.
More importantly, having Army-UMass at Fenway increases the game’s relevance on the national stage. Moving the game to Fenway turns the game from a strictly regional rivalry into potentially a national spectacle* in one of America’s most famous stadiums. Army has a few opportunities for national exposure each year, but the exposure of playing a service academy at Fenway would be huge for UMass, which has struggled to find relevance in its independent years.
Army-UMass could well have bowl implications for the Black Knights in the current bowl cycle as they are contractually tied to ESPN-owned bowls in 2023 and 2025. The Fenway Bowl is an ESPN-owned bowl that pits the American Athletic Conference against the ACC. However, only five of the 29 schools in those conference’s bowl pools have strong geographic ties to the region, with both of the Northeastern AAC schools in a three-year bowl drought. A strong Army crowd at Fenway could land the Black Knights in the Beantown bowl against an ACC school. The Fenway Bowl and ESPN would likely much rather take an Army squad with national appeal than an AAC squad from Texas or North Carolina.
Here's the latest in bowl projections 👀 pic.twitter.com/J3DrfDWknu
— Wasabi Fenway Bowl (@FenwayBowl) November 23, 2022
Assuming the Minutemen can get their program back on track and become regionally relevant again in football, Army-UMass at Fenway makes too much sense to not happen.If UConn is worthy of a potential Fenway Park game, then so is Army. A large traveling crowd of Black Knights fans on Saturday could go a long way towards cementing a future game at Fenway against the Minutemen.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Go Army! Beat UMass!!!.
*Editor’s Note: This assumes that UMass can get out of college football’s basement and into the national conversation the way that UConn has this season.
Cover image via @FenwayBowl.
I have caught football games hosted by Yankee Stadium and Globe Life (twice each)…frankly, they suck for watching football. Please encourage consideration of play at a location suitable for football. Thanks.
I’ve been to one of each. I agree with you that when you’re on the visitor’s side at Globe Life, the sight lines are not great. We were down close to the field — way too close, given how the stadium was set up — wound up maybe 40 yards from the action. The game was fun, but the seats themselves left a lot to be desired.
However, the Yankee Stadium game in 2014 is one of my all-time favorite Army games. We sat in one of the 200 sections for that one and wound up on about the 40-yard-line. That one was terrific.
FWIW, the set-up in Boston looks very clever. Because of the way the Green Monster sits — without seats — in relation to the rest of the field, there aren’t any seats that wind up 40 yards from the action. I think this will work well, though it mind wind up cold as all Hell out there.