Conference affiliation alters Navy's bowl finances

Navy's Keenan Reynolds is grabbed by teammate Jamir Tillman after running in a touchdown in the Military Bowl game with Pitt in Annapolis. (Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette) This year brought a new world for the Naval Academy Athletic Association with regard to bowl game revenue.

As an independent, Navy received whatever payout a particular bowl provided each team all to itself. However, the NAAA was also solely responsible for all bowl expenses, which can add up quickly when factoring in airline travel and lodging costs for a large traveling party.

Navy played in 11 bowl games from 2003 through 2014 and athletic director Chet Gladchuk said the school did not lose money on any of those…