Army Black Knights

Army Black Knights is the name of the athletics teams of the United States Military Academy. They participate in NCAA Division I-A as a non-football member of the Patriot League, a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school, and a member of Atlantic Hockey, the Collegiate Sprint Football League (men), the Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (men), the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, the Great America Rifle Conference, and the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association. Army is also one of approximately 300 members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).

The three major service academies (Army, Air Force, and Navy) compete for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which is awarded to the academy that defeats the others in football that year (or retained by the previous winner in the event of a three-way tie).

History
Since 1899, Army's mascot has officially been a mule because of the animal's historical importance in Army operations. The academy's football team was nicknamed "The Black Knights of the Hudson" due to the black color of its uniforms. This nickname has since been officially shortened to "Black Knights". The Army Black Knights also inspired a book The Black Knight's God: Horror Anthology.

U.S. sports media use "Army" as a synonym for the academy. "On Brave Old Army Team" is the school's fight song. Army's chief sports rival is the Naval Academy, due to its long-standing football rivalry and the inter-service rivalry with the Navy in general. Fourth class cadets verbally greet upper-class cadets and faculty with "Beat Navy", while the tunnel that runs under Washington Road is named the "Beat Navy" tunnel. In the first half of the 20th century, Army and Notre Dame were football rivals, but that rivalry has since died out.

Baseball

 * See footnote. See also: Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field

Men's cross country

 * See footnote

Men's golf

 * See footnote

Men's gymnastics

 * See footnote
 * See also: Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (EIGL) and NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship

Men's soccer

 * See footnote

Men's sprint football

 * See footnote

Men's swimming and diving

 * See footnote

Men's tennis

 * See footnote

Men's track and field

 * See footnote
 * See also: NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship and NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship

Men's wrestling

 * See footnote
 * See also: Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) and NCAA Wrestling Team Championship

Women's basketball

 * See footnote

Women's cross country

 * See footnote

Women's soccer

 * See footnote

Women's softball

 * See footnote

Women's swimming and diving

 * See footnote

Women's tennis

 * See footnote

Women's track and field

 * See footnote

Women's volleyball

 * See footnote

Rifle

 * See footnote

Men's rugby
Army plays college rugby in the Division 1-A Eastern Conference. The Black Knights play their home games at the Anderson Rugby Complex on the campus of West Point. Rugby is a relatively popular sport at Westpoint; for example, the 2012 game against Air Force was attended by 2,000 fans. Army is led by Director of Rugby Rich Pohlidal.

Army has one of the most successful college rugby teams in the country. Army played in three consecutive national championship games from 1990-1992. Army reached the national semi-finals four consecutive years from 2000-2003, and twice in a row in 2009 and 2010. More recently, Army reached the quarterfinals in 2013. Army also plays in the Collegiate Rugby Championship, the highest profile college rugby tournament in the US, reaching the finals in 2011. The Collegiate Rugby Championship is played every year in early June at PPL Park in Philadelphia, and is broadcast live on NBC.

Longest-running annual international sporting event
Every year, Army faces the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins in the annual West Point Weekend hockey game. This series, conceived in 1923, is the longest-running annual international sporting event in the world.

Awards

 * Lt. Raymond Enners Award (national men's lacrosse award; named for a member of the Class of 1967)
 * Maggie Dixon Award (national women's basketball rookie coach award; named for Army women's basketball coach)
 * NCAA Award of Valor:
 * 2007 - Derek Hines (Class of 2003), who demonstrated valor in Afghanistan before being killed there.
 * 2008 - Emily Perez (Class of 2005), who died after an improvised explosive device exploded near her vehicle in Iraq and whose U.S. Army unit recognized her for her leadership after her death.
 * NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award:
 * 1967 - Dwight D. Eisenhower (football)
 * 1973 - Omar Bradley (baseball)

Hall of fame

 * For a list of members by induction year, sport, and alphabetically, see footnote

The Army Sports Hall of Fame consists of displays in the Kenna Hall of Army Sports, which is located within the Kimsey Athletic Center. The first set of members was inducted in 2004.

Alumni

 * See: List of sportspeople educated at the United States Military Academy

Facilities

 * See United States Military Academy grounds and facilities