Government Shutdown forcing cancellation of Air Force-Navy game?

According to a press release from Navy's athletic department, the Department of Defense has put a halt to all intercollegiate athletics for the time being thanks to the government shutdown. 

That means this weekends Air Force vs. Navy game as well as Army's game against Boston College could be in jeopardy. It has yet to be canceled completely according to the release.

Air Force, Navy, and Army compete annually for the Commander in Chief Trophy, which goes to the team with the best record in the series between the three academies. 

Part of the issue for this weekend's games is the fact that all upper class cadets at the institutions are considered military personnel and that means under the government shutdown they are under travel restrictions. 

Obviously the hope is still there to play the game this weekend, but that appears up to the folks in Washington, D.C. 

Hope will be held out until noon ET on Thursday when the game will or will not be called off for sure. After that point the logistics of travel just can't be worked out, even if the shutdown ends later in the day or on Friday. 

There is no word yet if this game or any games in the future for the service academies will be made up or not, which could throw conference play into an interesting situation for Air Force and the Mountain West conference. 

About Andrew Coppens

Andy is a contributor to The Comeback as well as Publisher of Big Ten site talking10. He also is a member of the FWAA and has been covering college sports since 2011. Andy is an avid soccer fan and runs the Celtic FC site The Celtic Bhoys. If he's not writing about sports, you can find him enjoying them in front of the TV with a good beer!

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