The 2021 Army Black Knights football team represented the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Black Knights were led by eighth-year head coach

Jeff Monken Jeffrey Michael Monken (born April 15, 1967) is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at the United States Military Academy, a position he has held since the 2014 season. Monken previously served as the head football ...

and played their home games at

Michie Stadium Michie Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. The home field for the Army Black Knights, it opened in 1924 and has a current seating capacity of 38,000. The stadium sits at t ...

. They competed as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. The Black Knights finished the season with a record of 9–4, sharing the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy with

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

after all three service academies finished with 1–1 records against each other. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they defeated

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, 24–22.

Previous season

The Black Knights finished the 2020 season with a record of 9–3, winning the Lambert Trophy for the second time in three years, and winning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the third time in four years following back-to-back victories over

and

. They were invited to the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

where they were defeated by

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, 21–24.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released.

Personnel

Coaching staff

# Keith Gaither also served as the wide receivers coach at Army from 2015 to 2016 # Saga Tuitele also served as the offensive line coach at Army from 2007 to 2008. # Tucker Waugh also served as the wide receivers coach at Army from 2000 to 2004. # John Loose also served as the linebackers coach at Army from 1992 to 1999. # Scott Swanson also served as an assistant strength & conditioning coach at Army from 1995 to 1996. :Source:

Roster

The Army football roster for the Week 1 game at Georgia State (as of August 30, 2021):

Depth chart

The Army football depth chart for the 2021 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Missouri (as of December 19, 2021): Depth Chart 2021
''True Freshman''
Double Position : *

Schedule

:Source:

Game summaries

At Georgia State

Western Kentucky

UConn

Miami (OH)

At Ball State

At Wisconsin

No. 16 Wake Forest

Vs. Air Force

Bucknell

UMass

At Liberty

Vs. Navy

The Army Black Knights camouflaged uniform honored the Special Forces Operational Detachment Alphas (ODAs) from the 5th Special Forces Group of Task Force Dagger. In the immediate wake of the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...

, ODAs were called upon to rapidly deploy from

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

to Afghanistan. The uniforms also pay tribute to service members and veterans, marking not only the end of the "Forever War" in Afghanistan, but the 20-year anniversary of 9/11. Each jersey features an Army patch and a mirror patch emblazoned with the words "De Oppresso Liber", which is Latin for "from being an oppressed man to being a free one.", which is the motto for the

Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

. The jerseys also has the collar devices worn by the Special Forces, showcasing crossed arrows and the letters U and S with "United We Stand" on the back of the jersey. The helmets also bear the Special Forces crest and crossed arrows, an American flag, and unit insignia for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's Night Stalkers. The date of the 2001 terrorist attacks are located front and center. The cleats have a pentagon-shaped logo with the twin towers of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

in red, white and blue.

Vs. Missouri – Armed Forces Bowl

References

{{Army Black Knights football navbox

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Army Black Knights football seasons

Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football team, previously known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. Army is a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member o ...

Armed Forces Bowl champion seasons