When Navy announced they were joining the Big East in 2015, it was evident that they would have to ditch several non-conference games. That process has begun as a four-game football series with UNLV has been canceled.
Navy and UNLV were scheduled to meet in Las Vegas in 2014 (Oct. 11) and 2017 (Oct. 7) and in Annapolis in 2015 (Sept. 5) and 2016 (Sept. 17). The 2014 game would have been the first ever meeting between the two schools.
The Midshipmen also had a four game, home-and-home series set with the SMU Mustangs for 2015-18. With SMU moving to the Big East in 2013, that non-conference series will be canceled too if it hasn’t been already.
Navy has eight non-Big East games remaining on their 2015 football schedule. At least four of those will have to be canceled and possibly five if the Big East plays a nine-game conference slate. The Army-Navy series will continue, but it remains to be seen if Air Force-Navy does also.
Although they are scheduled to join the Big East in 2015, the Las Vegas Review-Journal suggests Navy could “move up the timetable.” If that is 2014, the Middies have a lot more work to do. Their 2014 schedule consists of 11 games, although two are Army and Air Force and two are Big East teams (Rutgers and Temple).
The cancellation leaves UNLV with two non-conference games in 2014 (at Arizona, vs. Louisiana Tech), one in 2015 (UCLA), two in 2016 (at UCLA, vs. Idaho) and one in 2017 (at Idaho).