Oct 01, 2013 03:41 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The federal government shutdown has officially crossed into the world of sports, as the Army, Navy and Air Force could all see their football games be cancelled this week, ESPN reported.

Army is scheduled to play Boston College and Navy and Air Force are supposed to play each other, but if the federal government shutdown lasts long enough, the game will either be vacated or rescheduled.

"At this time, travel for all intercollegiate athletics is cancelled - this includes the Air Force-Navy game on Saturday, 5 Oct," the Air Force Academy said in an announcement.

Both games are scheduled for Saturday, but the U.S. Defense Department announced Tuesday that all travel arrangements intercollegiate athletics for the country's service academies will be suspended. As of Tuesday, Oct. 1, the federal government failed to pass a spending bill that would fund the government, leaving 800,000 federal workers on unpaid leave.

It is not clear if the announcement means the games will be made up or not, should they end up being cancelled. According to Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, lawyers are currently working to determine if intercollegiate activities are funded by Congressionally allocated funds.

A Navy spokesman said the decision on whether or not the game against Air Force would be played will be announced by noon on Thursday. Boston College, however, is not so sure about when it will learn about its game against Army.

"We have been in close communication with Army athletics officials regarding the potential impact of the government shutdown on this Saturday's football game," Boston College athletic director Brad Bates said in a statement. "Obviously our intention is to exhaust all possibilities to play the game and we will communicate the information promptly as soon as we have resolution."

Even while lawyers seek to determine if the U.S. service academies need to use federally allocated funds to travel to games, the Defense Department said such ventures would be cancelled until the shutdown is lifted.

At least one game has already been affected by the government shutdown. Navy's men's soccer match against Howard University, scheduled for Tuesday night, has been canceled.

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