Last year, the Naval Academy’s football uniforms for its rival game against the United States Military Academy West Point paid homage to astronauts. This year, they’ve returned to the sea in a big way— via submarine.
“Navy Athletics and Under Armour unveiled the 2023 Army-Navy game uniform today that will honor the Silent Service, the U.S. Submarine Force, its families and supporting personnel,” according to a Nov. 20 release.
The rich blue fabric used to create the Midshipmen uniform is Under Armour’s “Eclipse Navy” — a fitting moniker for the color of sea depths patrolled by the Navy’s submariners.
A sleeve patch features the anchor locked-up with the Submarine Warfare insignia known as “dolphins/fish”.
“The design encompasses a historically inspired rendering of dolphins flanking a submarine in the middle,” the release notes. “The Submarine Warfare insignia was created in 1923 by Captain Ernest J. King, who proposed that the Navy create a warfare insignia device for qualified submariners.”
Its numbering font is intended to resemble that of the lettering on submarine hulls as well, according to the release. Meanwhile, the dark blue Under Armour cleats feature a pattern of sea swells.
Lastly, the helmets are adorned with Virginia Class submarines on the right side. The left side features a mix of the traditional Navy anchor plus submariner pin — but what makes it particularly special is a color-changing paint that mimicks the radar system aboard submarines when they lock onto a target.
“This year, 158 midshipmen earned the service assignment of submarines or nuclear submarines,” the release said.
The 2023 Army-Navy game is on Dec. 9, 2023 and will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digitial Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.
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