ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In a college football landscape filled with traditions and rivalries, the Army–Navy game exists in a category entirely its own. And when the biggest game of the year rolls around, both schools feel obligated to go all out with new uniforms.

That’s why Navy Football this week unveiled new multicolored uniforms paying tribute to the dolphin artwork of legendary artist Lisa Frank.

“We wanted something people would instantly recognize as the most Navy thing they’ve ever seen,” said Marine Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte, superintendent of the Naval Academy. “Plus it has all the colors from the crayon box, which, as a Marine, I fucking love.”

The uniforms feature Lisa Frank’s signature “dancing dolphins” rendered in rainbow hues and circling a traditional Navy anchor. They’re paired with helmets sporting a poorly executed airbrushed design — a staple of Navy football uniforms over the last several seasons.

While the look marks a departure from past uniforms honoring specific warfare communities, academy leadership is optimistic the change will be well received.

“In the past, whenever we did Naval Aviation uniforms for a Top Gun vibe, the crowd kept chanting ‘Virgin Airlines,’ which is pretty hurtful,” Borgschulte said. “I’d like to see them even try to make fun of these bad boys.”

Though Lisa Frank is best known for her vibrant designs and not for any association with military service, she is reportedly reclusive, awkward, and terrible to the people who work for her — traits widely shared by Naval Academy graduates.

“Apparently employees at Lisa Frank, Inc. used to call it the ‘Rainbow Gulag,’” Borgschulte added. “Which is wild, since that’s been the unofficial nickname of the Naval Academy since its founding.”