The expansion of the Atlantic Coast Conference has sparked a chain reaction that could lead Navy to join one of three football leagues, although the academy appears in no rush to abandon its position as one of the nation's few remaining independent programs.
Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk is talking with officials from the Big East, Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference about the possibility of the Midshipmen's uniting with one of the groups.
Sources familiar with Navy's situation said the academy is being approached more aggressively by the MAC and Conference USA, while the Big East is fading as a potential dance partner with the Mids.
Navy is one of four independents left in Division I football, with Notre Dame, Connecticut (which will join the Big East next season) and Troy State being the others. Gladchuk, who pointed to such current advantages as scheduling control and an already favorable financial picture, said he likes the status quo but will remain open to the idea of linking up with a conference.
Gladchuk said the academy's football program, driven by its television contracts, annual games against Notre Dame and Army, road guarantees and corporate sponsorships, generates more than $8 million annually.
"We're actually very comfortable where we are as an independent. Football drives about 65 percent of our [athletics] budget. Right now, we can control our destiny. We're not compelled to be knee-jerk and jump into anything," Gladchuk said.
"I also want to make sure that, although we're in safe harbor, we have to be astute enough to see where we want to be [in the future]. What's going on now is fact-finding, superficial talks. You're dealing with speculative, exploratory what-ifs. Having Navy as part of those what-ifs makes sense."
Navy, which is trying to complete its first winning season since 1997 and earn its first bowl invitation since 1996, has had discussions with the MAC dating to last year and has listened increasingly to Conference USA this fall, Gladchuk said.
Neither Rick Chryst nor Britton Banowsky, the respective commissioners of the MAC and Conference USA, returned phone calls.
Navy became a more popular target after the ACC increased its membership from nine schools to 12 this year by luring Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College from the Big East.
