THE ARMY–NAVY GAME: A TRADITION OF RIVALRY, HONOR, AND BROTHERHOOD

This season’s football game will mark the 126th meeting between the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland—better known to college football fans simply as the Army–Navy Game. Outside of the major bowl games, the Army-Navy Game is arguably the most celebrated game of every college football season. Regardless of the two teams’ records, the game is almost always a competitive affair and contains everything that makes college football special – the traditions, the pageantry, the rich history, and, given its December date, inclement weather.

A Historic Rivalry Played on Neutral Ground

The game has historically been played on a neutral site, with 90 of the games played in Philadelphia. This year’s contest will also be played on a neutral site, when the two squads face off on December 13th at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

For those tracking at home, the Navy Midshipmen have won 18 of the 25 meetings in the 21st century and bring a 9-2 record into this year’s tilt. The Army Black Knights come into the game with a 6-5 record.

Regardless of the outcome, both teams are bowl-eligible and will get to play bonus football this season.

The Game’s Deep Significance for Service Academy Players

The game has particular significance for players from the military academies because, for most seniors, it often marks the last game of their football careers.

The path from a service academy to the NFL has been almost unattainable for military academy players, even the best of the best, due to the five-year active duty service commitment that cadets once incurred upon graduation.

That changed in June 2019, when a new policy was implemented that enabled former military academy players to apply for a waiver, enabling them to shorten their active duty commitment to two years. This gave players a more realistic shot at making an NFL roster.

Brett Toth: From West Point to the NFL

One of the six former Army players who benefited from this change is Brett Toth, a former Black Knight who currently plays offensive line for the Philadelphia Eagles and still has six months left on his inactive reserve commitment to the US Army.

As we head into Army-Navy week, we had the opportunity to interview Toth, who shared his journey from Charleston, South Carolina, to West Point, and eventually to the NFL. He also reflected on his four Army–Navy Game appearances and shared a message to this year’s Black Knights squad as they prepare to face their Navy adversaries one more time.

Early Years & Arriving at West Point

Toth played high school football at West Ashley High School in Charleston, SC. He hails from a family of military Veterans, including his father, who served five years in the Navy as a nuclear operator on submarines.

After an exceptional high school football career, Toth considered scholarship offers from smaller schools before pursuing an appointment to West Point, a school that values brains as much as it does brawn in its football players. Toth didn’t see much playing time his first two years at the point, arriving at the tail end of a 14-game winning streak by the Midshipmen over the Black Knights.

It was rough, Toth says of the losing streak, “You could go one game the entire year, but if you beat Navy, it's worth it.”

Toth says the Army players had mentally turned Navy into a monster. He calls it “building a bully.”

“That's all everyone talks about. I think a big part was kind of once you build the bully, you make them tougher than they truly are. You mentally psych yourself out. So, a big part was just telling yourself, I've never lost a game. But then you think about it every year. You're only given one shot a year ... one shot a year to end it,” Toth said.

“Freshman year, I wasn't really in the mix, and we just got the new coaching staff. We lost that one. Sophomore year, I had started a few games but missed the Navy game due to injuries. We lost that one, too.”

Breaking the Streak

Things changed during Toth’s junior year when he started every game.

“Got there my junior year and it just felt like, as a unit, we were ready. All the guys who were on the offensive line were all pretty much the same class. We were close. We had been there for three years. It just seemed like it was time.”

It certainly was time. Toth and his Army teammates ended Navy’s streak.

“That was the Baltimore game,” Toth said. “We won, and it was just mayhem. To see people who have gone through 15-year careers who had graduated from West Point and never seen a win. People who had come back as colonels, helping us on the staff, who had never seen an Army-Navy win. It was very emotional.”

In Toth’s senior year, Army beat Navy again. Then reality sank in. Toth’s football career, even though he had professional talent, was likely about to end due to the military’s 24-month active duty service commitment. His last college game occurred when Toth became the first Black Knight to ever be selected to play in the prestigious Senior Bowl – a college all-star game – in 2018.

However, Toth went unselected in the 2018 NFL draft, and after graduation and his commissioning as a Second Lieutenant, he headed to engineering officer technical training at Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri. Was it game over? Not quite.

An Unexpected Second Chance

After completing his technical training, the Army had a glut of engineering officers and decided to keep Toth at Ft Leonard Wood, where he found himself supporting Basic Combat Training.

“I basically sat around all day and made pretty PowerPoint slides. They didn’t want us new lieutenants interacting with the recruits because we didn’t know much,” Toth jokingly recalled.

In addition to making PowerPoint charts at Ft Leonard Wood, Toth had the good fortune to meet his wife, Thereasa, who was also an Army officer.

In 2019, the military changed its service commitment rules, allowing military athletes to apply for a waiver to curtail that commitment and pursue a professional career. Toth jumped on that opportunity, submitted the waiver, received approval, and was summoned to Philadelphia for a tryout with the Eagles.

“I remember when I told my wife that I was going to Philadelphia for a tryout. She was surprised. I guess she thought I was lying to her about my football ability,” Toth laughed. “She said to me, ‘I guess you really are good at this football stuff.’”

Yes, Thereasa, your husband really was, and is, good at this football stuff.

In August 2019, the Eagles signed Toth to a three-year contract. That contract lasted one month, until the end of pre-season, when the Eagles waived Toth. The Arizona Cardinals quickly claimed Toth, and his NFL roller coaster career began. Since that first contract, Toth has been with the Cardinals, the Eagles again, the Carolina Panthers, and back to the Eagles for a third stint. That’s more Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves than your typical Army Officer would make in just over six years.

“I'd say it's very similar, worse in some cases,” Toth remarked. “My wife and I always talk about whenever playing's done, what I would do. The first possible career afterwards is coaching football. However, it's the same sort of lifestyle. If you’re doing well in coaching, you end up moving a lot. Even if you’re doing poorly in coaching, you move. It’s tough on the family.”

Toth said he’s not seriously thinking about his post-NFL career options just yet. He majored in nuclear engineering at West Point and has thought about going back to school and becoming a radiation oncologist. That’s quite different from coaching football. Although it would enable Toth, Thereasa, and their kids – a boy and a baby girl on the way – to live closer to family and dig some roots.

Words of Wisdom for Today’s Black Knights

Now back to the Army-Navy Game. When asked if he could share some words of encouragement for his Army brethren as they enter the big game, Toth waxed somewhat philosophical.

“Be where your feet are and take advantage of the opportunity you're given. Every play is a new play.”

When asked if the Army players truly hate their Navy adversaries, Toth said no … with a caveat.

“If you can convince yourself you don't like someone, it brings a little more focus and intensity. So, yes, maybe there is a little bit of hate. That’s okay,” Toth grinned.

“Just remember, when the game's over, you're all brothers again … you’re all on the same team.”

That team is the US military. That team in the USA. Perhaps, with a little intraservice animosity on one Saturday every December. Go Army! Go Navy!

Suggested reads:

• How One Midshipman Changed the Game: The Evolution of Army-Navy Spirit Spots
• Army-Navy Game Traditions: A Storied Football Rivalry
• The Largest Navy Bases in the World: Ranked by Land Area, Population, and Strategic Impact