Just a year after Army joined the American Athletic Conference, the Black Knights have finished their inaugural AAC season 8-0, and will host Tulane in the conference championship game Friday night at 8 p.m. in Michie Stadium.

“We've been playing really good three phases of football: special teams, offense, defense,” said Kalib Fortner, a junior linebacker for Army. “We've really been cohesive as a team. And it's been very special. So to capitalize on this Friday is going to be important.”

This will be the first time ever the Black Knights (10-1) are playing in a conference championship game. Army is 9-13-1 all-time against Tulane (9-3), making its third straight appearance in the AAC title game. Army's only loss this year was to Notre Dame two weeks ago at Yankee Stadium.

“Winning is fun, and I think that's the goal of every team. So to be able to come out and have the success after all the hard work we put in as a team, it’s really rewarding and it's been a lot of fun,” said Lucas Scott, a senior offensive lineman.

In both the latest College Football Playoff rankings and AP Top 25 poll, the Black Knights were ranked No. 24. In addition this week, Army head coach Jeff Monken was named AAC coach of the year, while quarterback Bryson Daily was selected as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.

“We haven't won anything yet,” Monken said Monday. “We've won some games along the way this year, and it's been a lot of fun. We've got a great group of guys that I love, but the accomplishments that we could be proud of are still out there. And one of those is Friday night to play for a championship.”