The Independent Conference of the NCAA division I-A include the college football teams from the following schools:

• the Army Black Knights from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York
• the Navy Midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland
• the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana

Joining the list as of 2007 are the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, having recently switched from NCAA-Division 1AA play to Division 1A. They are eligible to join the Sun Belt Conference (of which they are a part in all other varsity sports) as of 2009, and are expected to.

The Temple Owls football teams of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used to be Independent but as of 2007 now play as a full member of the Mid-American Conference.

Independent affiliation is a bit of a misnomer, actually, as Independent schools are not actually affiliated with any Conference or League at all, not even with each other.

Army Black Knights

The Black Knights were once one of the nation’s top college football team, winning the 1944-46 national titles consecutively under head coach Earl Blaik, and producing 3 winners of the Heisman Trophy: Glenn Davis, Pete Dawkins, and Doc Blanchard. Legendary coaches Vince Lombard and Bill Parcells were both assistant coaches at Army.

The Army Black Knights football team was formerly part of Conference USA until going Independent in 2004. They play their home games on Blaik Field at the 39,000+-seat Michie Stadium, which is near the Lusk Reservoir on the United States Military Academy campus.

In all other sports outside of football the Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen are in the Patriot League.

Navy Midshipmen

Known to their fans as the “Mids”, the Midshipmen boast 19 players and 3 head coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame. They play their home games at the 35,000-seat Navy-Marine Corp Memorial Stadium, where the school also plays their intercollegiate lacrosse home games.

In all other sports outside of football the Navy Midshipmen are in the Patriot League.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The only Independent NCAA-Division 1A football team ever to make it to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl, Notre Dame is one of the consistently revered teams in all of college football. In their time, the Fighting Irish football team has notched more than 800 wins and 11 championships, with a nearly 75% win percentage. Seven Fighting Irish have won the Heisman Trophy. The Fighting Irish play their home games at the 380,000-seat Notre Dame Stadium.

In all other sports outside of football the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are in the Big East Conference.

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