We’re not even halfway through November, and we’ve already gotten the first bowl invitation of the season.
Halfway through Navy’s game with Tulsa, the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl sent out a press release announcing that it had officially extended an invitation to the service academy to play in the 2016 edition of the postseason game. The Midshipmen have not yet publicly responded to the invite.
“We are absolutely delighted to officially offer the Naval Academy an invitation to play in the 2016 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl,” executive director Brant Ringler said in a statement. “Coach Ken Niumatalolo and Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk are tremendous individuals who run a first-class program. We are thrilled to be able to host the Navy football team and the legions of midshipmen in Fort Worth once again.”
Navy has played in this bowl game once previously, a 24-6 win over Middle Tennessee State in 2013. The academy would become the fifth tam with multiple Armed Forces Bowl appearances, joining Air Force (5), Houston (4), California (2) and Tulsa (2) in that group.
The release made sure to note that “Navy is still in contention for the Group of Five bid to a New Year’s Six Bowl and should they be selected, it would preempt the contractual agreement with Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.”
