Commander-in-Chief's Trophy

Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
Commander in Chief's Trophy
Showing the side of the 2016 winner, Air Force.
Air Force Falcons	Army Black Knights	Navy Midshipmen
Originated:	1972; 45 years ago (1972)
Current Holder:	Air Force
Air Force (20) 1982   1983 1985   1987 1989   1990 1991   1992 1994   1995 1997   1998 1999   2000 2001   2002 2010   2011 2014   2016	Army (6) 1972   1977 1984   1986 1988   1996	Navy (15) 1973   1975 1978   1979 1981   2003 2004   2005 2006   2007 2008   2009 2012   2013 2015
Shared Awards (4) 1974   1976   1980   1993

The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is awarded to each season's winner of the American college football triangular series among the teams of the U.S. Military Academy (Army Black Knights), the U.S. Naval Academy (Navy Midshipmen), and U.S. Air Force Academy (Air Force Falcons).

The Navy–Air Force game is traditionally played on the first Saturday in October, the Army–Air Force game on the first Saturday in November, and the Army–Navy Game on the second Saturday in December. In the event of a tie, the award is shared, but the previous winner retains possession of the trophy. Along with the Florida Cup, the Michigan MAC Trophy, and the Beehive Boot, the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is one of the few three-way rivalries that awards a trophy to the winner.

Through 2016, the Air Force Falcons hold the most trophy victories at 20 and the Navy Midshipmen have won 15. The Army Black Knights trail with only six; their last came 21 years ago in 1996. The trophy has been shared on four occasions, last in 1993.

Prior to 1972, Air Force played Army in odd years and Navy in even years. The Commander-in-Chief's trophy was the brainchild of Air Force General George B. Simler, a former Air Force Academy athletic director who envisioned the trophy as a means to create an annual series of football games for the Air Force Academy against the Military Academy and the Naval Academy. First awarded in 1972 by President Richard Nixon, the trophy itself is jointly sponsored by the alumni associations of the three academies.