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UPDATE: Navy-Air Force Football Game Will Be Played Saturday

The game can go on because Air Force will travel to Annapolis using non-governmental funds.
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Saturday’s football game between the US Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy will go forward as planned despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, a spokesman for Navy’s athletics department announced Thursday.

The game had been put in jeopardy by the shutdown because the Defense Department’s shutdown plan restricts travel for active military personnel, including upperclassmen at the service academies. But Air Force’s trip to Annapolis will be paid for by non-government funds, USA Today reports. Similarly, Army’s game at Boston College will also take place, with Boston College footing the trip from West Point.
However, all other intercollegiate sporting events involving the service academies are canceled through Sunday.
The Navy-Air Force game is the first matchup in the three-way series between the military colleges for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. The sold-out game will be broadcast on CBS beginning at 11:30 AM.

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Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.