Army vs. Navy is quickly becoming one of college football's best all-uniform games, as evidenced by both teams' looks for their 2022 meeting.
Both the Black Knights and Midshipmen will don uniforms that honor the respective histories of their corresponding military branches.
Army will sport the "Old Ironsides" uniform on Saturday, which honors the 80th anniversary of the 1st Armored Division, the U.S.'s first armored division to see battle in World War II.
Likewise, Navy will feature an astronaut-themed look that honors the branch's historical ties to NASA. The Naval Academy has produced 54 astronauts, more than any other university in America (including, of course, the Air Force and West Point).
It's only fitting that Army and Navy would use the rivalry stage in Philadelphia to showcase their uniforms. With that, The Sporting News explains the history and significance of both teams' looks:
MORE: Army vs. Navy game location 2022: Everything to know about historic rivalry's Philadelphia tradition
Army's 'Old Ironsides' uniform
Nike and Army worked together to create the "Old Ironsides" uniform for Saturday's game. It is a direct reference to the nickname of the 1st Armored Division, the first in the U.S. Army to see action in WWII.
The division helped carry out Operation Torch, a joint Allied invasion of French North Africa: The targeted seizing of ports and airports in Casablanca, Oran and Algiers was the largest amphibious landing at that point in world history. The division would later go on to fight in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy before serving in German occupation after the war.
The Army uniform is brown and yellow, taking inspiration from the coloring of the 1st Armored Division's iconic M3 tanks. It has several other homages to the 1st Armored Division, including:
- WWII-era flag on back of helmet
- Campaign streamers from the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater on front of helmet
- Mud splatter on pants and helmet, signifying conditions in which 1st Armored Division fought
- 1st Armored Division unit patch on side of helmet and gloves
- 1st Armored Division insignia on pants
- Cadet regiment number and mascot, specific to each player's jersey
- Jersey font inspired by typography used by division's M3 tanks
Navy's astronaut-themed uniform
Navy, Under Armour and NASA partnered to design the Midshipmen's astronaut-themed uniform. The look is designed to honor the Naval Academy's robust history of producing astronauts: 54, more than any other academic institution in the country.
The first of those was 1945 graduate Alan Shepard, the first American in space and one of NASA's first seven astronauts. Bruce McCandless II, a 1958 graduate, was also the subject of an iconic photo in which he took the first untethered spacewalk.
The Navy uniform's primary color is white, with red and blue accents designed to mimic NASA spacewalk suits. Other features of the uniform include:
- NASA's official "meatball" logo on shoulder pad
- Numbering and wordmark with Helvetica font, which has been used by NASA for decades
- Red-and-white gloves with astronaut pin on the palms
- Side panels on pants that feature the NASA astronaut pin, adopted in 1963
- Helmet art that features McCandless' untethered walk on one side and NASA logo with moon on the other
- Astronaut pin depicted on helmet's vertical stripe
- U.S.S. Enterprise patch on left side of shoulder pads, meant to honor Navy graduates who served aboard it
- All-white cleats to mimic astronaut moon boots; shiny dots on bottom represent stars
- Royal blue socks
- Red navy wordmark on NASA's "worm" logo patch
