College football games involving the U.S. service academies will continue this weekend despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, officials told The Athletic on Wednesday. Air Force travels to face Navy on Saturday in Annapolis, Maryland, with kickoff scheduled for noon ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ Premium. Army plays at UAB Saturday at noon ET.
The reason service academy games are moving forward despite the shutdown is their use of nonprofit funding for athletics, which shields them from interruptions in federal budgets. Navy’s athletic programs have long run independently of government money, and Army transitioned to a similar model in 2017.
More recently, Air Force created the Air Force Academy Athletic Corporation (AFAAC) to manage its athletic operations, including travel, game-day logistics and other expenses, allowing competitions to continue as planned, according to a statement by an Air Force athletics spokesperson provided to The Athletic. However, fans should note that team website updates will be slower than usual and live video streams of home games will not be offered.
The Falcons have dealt with similar disruptions in the past. During a January 2018 government shutdown, some Air Force athletic events were briefly canceled, and in October 2013, a shutdown nearly prevented a football trip to Navy before last-minute assistance allowed the game to go on.
Air Force is trying to avoid back-to-back losses to Navy for the first time since 2012 and 2013. The Falcons (1-3) have faced difficulties this season, losing all three games against FBS opponents. Meanwhile, the Midshipmen (4-0) are off to another strong start behind quarterback Blake Horvath and running back Alex Tecza and the top rushing attack in the country.
Army has also faced challenges this season outside of its lone upset win at Kansas State in Week 2. The Black Knights (1-3) are aiming to end a two-game losing streak and notch consecutive victories over UAB.
Read the full article here
