Army vs. Navy uniforms, explained: The stories behind unique designs for 2022 football rivalry

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:

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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:

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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: