Overshadowed by the conference shuffling madness of the last few days, Navy fell just short against a top-10 team for the second time in two years, losing 24-21 at then-No. 10 South Carolina last weekend. In 2009, the Midshipmen lost at then-No. 6 Ohio State 31-27. The defeats were supposed to be foregone conclusions, but for the Mids both stung, a product of the winning tradition renewed and cultivated in Annapolis over the last decade.
That mentality also drives how Navy approaches its place within the college football landscape, particularly when it comes to conference alignment. Even though Navy is an independent secure in a TV contract with CBS College Sports through 2017-18 and bowl commitments through 2013, athletic director Chet Gladchuk isn’t satisfied. In an interview with GoMids.com, Navy’s Scout.com affiliate, he fueled speculation of overtures from the Big East, which has gone from victim to aggressor and could have Navy at the top of its list of potential additions.
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“You can certainly say I have been [proactive in looking to join a conference],” Gladchuk said. “As an independent, we are in safe harbor today. … Being proactive is thinking what we look like five, six or seven years down the road.”
Even for a national program with three compelling annual games (Notre Dame, Air Force and Army) on the schedule, the fear is Navy might be left out of lucrative TV deals and whatever the postseason might turn into, playoff or BCS, as a result of super conferences.
But sacrificing the independence that has helped make Navy so good in exchange for stability would be risky. Right now, the Mids possess a unique ability to walk into Columbus or Columbia and have it called an honor and privilege to rattle a loaded national championship contender for three-and-a-half quarters. There may not be a more meaningful way to lose.
“Conference alignment doesn’t mean that we still can’t be,” Gladchuk said. “It may mean that we might become a little bit more parochial if that were the case in terms of scheduling. … And if that means that we have to associate with institutions with similar competitive ambitions, then that will have to be the direction we have to go.”
Like most other schools debating realignment, it’s not just money but identity that is at stake. And these days, it’s good to be unaffiliated Navy.
– Craig Stouffer
