A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Air Force Falcons football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1955 | ||
| Athletic director | Nathan Pine | ||
| Head coach | Troy Calhoun 17th season, 129–82 (.611) | ||
| Stadium | Falcon Stadium (capacity: 46,692) | ||
| Field surface | Turf | ||
| Location | Colorado Springs, Colorado | ||
| Conference | Mountain West (1999–present) | ||
| Division | Mountain (2013–2019 and 2021–2022) | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1955) University Division Independent (1956–1972) Division I/I-A Independent (1973–1979) WAC (1980–1998) | ||
| All-time record | 433–342–13 (.558) | ||
| Bowl record | 16–13–1 (.550) | ||
| Conference titles | 3 | ||
| Division titles | 3 | ||
| Rivalries | Army (rivalry) Navy (rivalry) Colorado State (rivalry) Hawaii (Kuter Trophy) | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 5 | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Blue and silver[1] | ||
| Fight song | "Falcon Fight Song" (unofficial: "The U.S. Air Force") | ||
| Mascot | The Bird | ||
| Marching band | United States Air Force Academy Drum & Bugle Corp "The Flight of Sound" | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Website | GoAirForceFalcons.com | ||
The Air Force Falcons football program represents the United States Air Force Academy in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. Air Force has been a member of the Mountain West Conference since its founding in 1999. The Falcons play their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Troy Calhoun has been the team's head coach since 2007.
The three major service academies—Air Force, Army and Navy—compete for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy which is awarded to the academy that defeats the others in football that year (or retained by the previous year's winner in the event of a three-way tie).
History
The Falcons are not only recognized by the lightning bolt on the side of their helmets, but their traditional option attack. Air Force is one of the premier rushing teams in the nation. Since Fisher DeBerry took over as Falcons head coach in 1984, they have ranked among the nation's top 10 in rushing 19 times in 21 years. The Air Force football team has enjoyed success not only on the field but also in the classroom. In 49 years of Air Force football, there have been 39 Academic All-Americans.[2]
The 1985 season
1985 was the most successful season in Air Force football history. Under 5th-year coach Fisher DeBerry, the Falcons came within one win of playing for the national championship. They recorded 10 straight wins to start the season, climbed the polls to No. 2 in the nation, but lost to BYU 28–21 in the penultimate game of the regular season. Air Force rebounded with a bowl game win over Texas in the Bluebonnet Bowl and finished with a 12–1 record as the No. 5 ranked team in the nation.
Conference affiliations
Air Force has been affiliated with the following conferences.
- Independent (1955–1979)
- Western Athletic Conference (1980–1998)
- Mountain West Conference (1999–present)
Championships
Conference championships
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985† | Western Athletic Conference | Fisher DeBerry | 12–1 | 7–1 |
| 1995† | 8–5 | 6–2 | ||
| 1998 | 12–1 | 7–1 |
† Co-champions
Division championships
| Year | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | WAC - Mountain | Fisher DeBerry | BYU | W 20–13 |
| 2015 | MW - Mountain | Troy Calhoun | San Diego State | L 24–27 |
| 2021 | MW - Mountain | N/A lost tie-breaker to Utah State | ||
Conference Championship Game appearances
Air Force has appeared in 2 conference championship games in their history, winning 1 of them.
| Year | Conference | Coach | CG Opponent | CG Result | Game MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | WAC | Fisher DeBerry | BYU | W 20–13 | N/A |
| 2015 | Mountain West | Troy Calhoun | San Diego State | L 24–27 | Christian Chapman (QB, San Diego State) Na'im McGee (S, San Diego State) |
Note: Includes appearances where the conference did not use divisions to determine championship game participants.
Bowl games
Air Force has played in 30 bowl games in their history, with a 16–13–1 (.550) record.[3] Their highest finish in the polls was fifth (UPI coaches) in 1985.[4]
| Season | Bowl | Opponent | Result | Head coach | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Cotton | TCU | T 0–0 | Ben Martin | 9–0–2 |
| 1963 | Gator | North Carolina | L 0–35 | Ben Martin | 7–4 |
| 1970 | Sugar | Tennessee | L 13–34 | Ben Martin | 9–3 |
| 1982 | Hall of Fame | Vanderbilt | W 36–28 | Ken Hatfield | 8–5 |
| 1983 | Independence | Ole Miss | W 9–3 | Ken Hatfield | 10–2 |
| 1984 | Independence | Virginia Tech | W 23–7 | Fisher DeBerry | 8–4 |
| 1985 | Bluebonnet | Texas | W 24–16 | Fisher DeBerry | 12–1 |
| 1987 | Freedom | Arizona State | L 28–33 | Fisher DeBerry | 9–4 |
| 1989 | Liberty | Ole Miss | L 29–42 | Fisher DeBerry | 8–4–1 |
| 1990 | Liberty | Ohio State | W 23–11 | Fisher DeBerry | 7–5 |
| 1991 | Liberty | Mississippi State | W 31–15 | Fisher DeBerry | 10–3 |
| 1992 | Liberty | Ole Miss | L 0–13 | Fisher DeBerry | 7–5 |
| 1995 | Copper | Texas Tech | L 41–55 | Fisher DeBerry | 8–5 |
| 1997 | Las Vegas | Oregon | L 13–41 | Fisher DeBerry | 10–3 |
| 1998 | Oahu | Washington | W 43–25 | Fisher DeBerry | 12–1 |
| 2000 | Silicon Valley | Fresno State | W 37–34 | Fisher DeBerry | 9–3 |
| 2002 | San Francisco | Virginia Tech | L 13–20 | Fisher DeBerry | 8–5 |
| 2007 | Armed Forces | California | L 36–42 | Troy Calhoun | 9–4 |
| 2008 | Armed Forces | Houston | L 28–34 | Troy Calhoun | 8–5 |
| 2009 | Armed Forces | Houston | W 47–20 | Troy Calhoun | 8–5 |
| 2010 | Independence | Georgia Tech | W 14–7 | Troy Calhoun | 9–4 |
| 2011 | Military | Toledo | L 41–42 | Troy Calhoun | 7–6 |
| 2012 | Armed Forces | Rice | L 14–33 | Troy Calhoun | 6–7 |
| 2014 | Idaho Potato | Western Michigan | W 38–24 | Troy Calhoun | 10–3 |
| 2015 | Armed Forces | California | L 36–55 | Troy Calhoun | 8–6 |
| 2016 | Arizona | South Alabama | W 45–21 | Troy Calhoun | 10–3 |
| 2019 | Cheez-It | Washington State | W 31–21 | Troy Calhoun | 11–2 |
| 2021 | First Responder | Louisville | W 31–28 | Troy Calhoun | 10–3 |
| 2022 | Armed Forces | Baylor | W 30–15 | Troy Calhoun | 10–3 |
| 2023 | Armed Forces | James Madison | W 31–21 | Troy Calhoun | 9–4 |
Head coaches
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In over 60 years of play in college football, the Falcons have had seven head coaches.
| Tenure | Coach | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Robert V. Whitlow | 4–4 | .500 |
| 1956–1957 | Buck Shaw | 9–8–2 | .526 |
| 1958–1977 | Ben Martin | 96–103–9 | .483 |
| 1978 | Bill Parcells | 3–8 | .273 |
| 1979–1983 | Ken Hatfield | 26–32–1 | .449 |
| 1984–2006 | Fisher DeBerry | 169–107–1 | .612 |
| 2007–present | Troy Calhoun | 129–82 | .611 |
Top 25 finishes
The Air Force Falcons have finished in the AP poll and/or the Coaches poll 8 times in the program's history, with the highest-ranked finishes being No. 6 in 1958 and No. 8 in 1985.[5] Note: The AP poll began in 1936, and the Coaches' Poll began in 1950. Before 1990, only the top 20 teams were ranked in the AP poll before it was expanded to 25.
In addition to the major polls, the BCS produced rankings from 1998 to 2013 which helped select teams for the BCS Bowls. Then, starting in 2014, the CFP committee began issuing rankings to determine which teams were selected for the playoffs.
| Season | Overall record | Major polls | Others | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP poll | Coaches poll | BCS Standings (1998–2013) |
CFP poll (2014–present) | ||
| 1958 | 9–0–1 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 1970 | 9–3 | 16 | 11 | ||
| 1983 | 10–2 | 13 | 15 | ||
| 1985 | 12–1 | 8 | 5 | ||
| 1991 | 10–3 | 25 | 24 | ||
| 1997 | 10–3 | 25 | |||
| 1998 | 12–1 | 13 | 10 | ||
| 2019 | 11–2 | 22 | 23 | ||
Falcon Stadium
Home games are played in Falcon Stadium, which sits below the main campus at an elevation of 6,621 feet (2,018 m) above sea level. Falcon Stadium is the 2nd highest stadium in the FBS division, with only Wyoming's stadium at a higher elevation. Pre-game activities include flyovers by USAF aircraft, including the F-15 and B-2. Opened in 1962, its highest attendance was 56,409 in 2002, when the Falcons hosted Notre Dame.[6]
Players
Individual accomplishments
Notable individual records
- Beau Morgan: He became the first player in NCAA history to rush and pass for over 1,000 yards in a season twice. He broke the NCAA single season rushing record for a quarterback, along with being only the second player in NCAA history to run and pass for 3,000 yards in a career.
Alumni in the National Football League
- Sid Abramowitz
- Shane Bonham
- Larry Cole
- Austin Cutting
- Bryce Fisher
- Ben Garland
- Ron George
- Chris Gizzi
- Garrett Griffin
- Chad Hall
- Chad Hennings
- Ernie Jennings
- Bill Line
- Beau Morgan
- Steve Russ
- Anthony Schlegel
- Jeff Smith
- Ted Sundquist
- Mark Simon