Army to hold spring football game at Fort Hood in Texas

There are plenty of unique things about playing football for a service academy. Not many schools will be traveling many miles to have their spring football game at a military base, for one example.

Army football is going to Fort Hood in Texas to have its Black & Gold Game on March 8. Fort Hood just opened up a multi-purpose stadium in October. Army held its spring game last year at Fort Benning in Georgia.

"This is another great developmental opportunity for our football team," Army head coach Rich Ellerson said. "We had a great experience with our spring game last season, and we feel it is important to continue strengthening the bond between Army Football and the U.S. Army. It's a tremendous chance to not only showcase our players and program, but it also gives the cadets the chance to experience these great Army communities."

The unique location is not even the most unusual thing about Army's spring game.

This being a service academy that focuses on way more than football, Army's players are going to do some military training when they are on the base. According to the release, the players will "experience the facility's Engagement Skills Trainer which simulates realistic marksmanship and combat scenarios for some of the most common weapons in the U.S. Army arsenal. The team will also visit the Fort Hood Medical Simulation Training Center which trains soldiers in Combat Life Saver and Tactical Combat Casualty Care concepts."

Wow. Pretty sure that none of the teams in the BCS conferences are doing that before their spring game.

"This is not only an opportunity for soldiers and families here to experience Army Football firsthand, it is an opportunity for the West Point team to experience some of the world-class training resources at Fort Hood," Fort Hood spokesman Col. Ben Danner said. "Everybody wins."

Let's see another team top that spring football experience.

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