WASHINGTON—Following President Trump’s Executive Order establishing an exclusive broadcast window for the annual Army-Navy football game, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has come out in favor of the idea, which is designed to ensure that no other college football games are aired at the same time of the matchup.
During a presentation of the Commander in Chief’s Trophy to the United States Naval Academy football team, President Trump signed a new Executive Order to protect the Army-Navy Game, known as “America’s Game” by giving it an exclusive time slot.
Specifically, the Executive Order calls on the Chairman of the FCC and the Secretary of Commerce to coordinate with relevant stakeholders to ensure that no college football games are broadcast that conflict with the airing of the game.
Article continues belowFCC Chair Carr, who attended the presentation and the signing of the order, quickly issued a statement backing the Order.
“I was honored to join President Trump at the White House today as he awarded the coveted Commander in Chief’s Trophy to the Navy Football team,” Carr said. “The annual showdown between Army and Navy is always a classic and showcases the strength and bravery of this national service event. America’s Game stands as a symbol of excellences and our great national spirit. It is important that we continue to reserve a window of time on the second Saturday in December exclusively for this important event. I look forward to working with Secretary Lutnick [at the U.S. Commerce Department] on the successful implementation of this Executive Order.”
The Order comes at a time when the recent and potentially ongoing expansion of the College Football Playoffs (CFP) and other postseason college football games has raised worries that the CFP might encroach upon the second Saturday in December and create scheduling conflicts with the game.
“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 March 20 Executive Order stated. “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. 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.”
To achieve that aim, the “Preserving America’s Game” Executive Order directs that the Secretary of Commerce and the Chairman of the FCC coordinate with the CFP Committee, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, related organizations, other appropriate government agencies, and the playoffs’ broadcast and media rights partners with the goal of establishing an exclusive window for the Army-Navy Game, during which no other college football game is broadcast.
Traditionally, the Army-Navy game has sat in a protected time slot. In 2025, FBS bowl games, the Celebration Bowl and LA Bowl, were intentionally scheduled for noon and 8:00 PM to avoid a direct broadcast conflict with the rivalry.
It is not clear whether any of the parties involved in scheduling the games have considered changing that tradition. Nor is it clear if the U.S. president has the authority to establish an exclusive broadcast window for the Army/Navy game or any other sporting event.
If the courts were to rule that President Trump had the constitutional authority to schedule TV programming or the timing of other events–subjects that are not directly mentioned in the constitution establishing the authority of the executive branch–it would mark an unprecedented expansion of government power over the content appearing on television and scheduling of major events. It would also give the government greatly expanded power to directly intervene in private contracts between media outlets, sports leagues, individuals and companies.
Nor is it clear how such a window could be enforced.
The EO specifies that the Chair of the FCC shall consider reviewing the public interest obligations of broadcast licensees to determine whether those obligations would require that the Army-Navy Game remain a national service event.
Such a determination would dramatically expand the FCC’s authority over the scheduling of broadcasts and sporting events.
The full Executive Order is available here.
