Shutdown Leaves Service Academy Football Games in Doubt

It seems the politicians in Washington aren't the only ones who won't be playing ball during the government shutdown.

The Pentagon on Tuesday suspended intercollegiate athletic competition at its service academies because of the shutdown, leaving this weekend’s Navy-Air Force football game in doubt, according to the U.S. Naval Academy.

The Naval Academy’s soccer game against Howard University scheduled for tonight has been canceled, the Academy said in a statement. The Navy’s undergraduate college said it will announce a decision on the scheduled Oct. 5 football game against the Air Force Academy by noon on Oct. 3.

Asked how the shutdown is affecting civilian workers at the service academies, Frank DeMaro, a spokesman for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said the institution was waiting to hear from Army headquarters on how to proceed.