If the government shutdown continues, football games may be prone to cancellation. | M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Navy-Air Force game could be off

The Defense Department has canceled intercollegiate sports at its three service academies during the government shutdown, according to an announcement Tuesday.

The Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the U.S. Military Academy are suspending their football and most other games. Specifically, the Naval Academy said it had canceled a soccer game scheduled for Tuesday night against Howard University and could cancel Saturday’s football game against Air Force in Annapolis, Md.


The Pentagon must furlough some 400,000 civilian employees during the shutdown and has also said it will cut back on travel — two factors that could contribute to the decision to suspend the academies’ popular athletic programs.

( Also on POLITICO: Troops could still lose special pay)

A hastily passed law signed late Monday by President Barack Obama gives Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel some leeway to exempt some employees from furloughs, but Hagel told reporters on his trip to South Korea that Pentagon lawyers haven’t yet concluded how he may use it.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this article said the football game had been canceled. A final decision has not been made.