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 Air Force Academy, Colorado, north of Colorado Springs. 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.
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 1985† Western Athletic Conference Fisher DeBerry 12–1 7–1 1995† 8–5 6–2 1998 12–1 7–1 † Co-champions
Division championships 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. 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 record. Their highest finish in the polls was fifth (UPI coaches) in 1985.2013 Air Force football media guide. Retrieved 2013-Sep-25. 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
In over 60 years of play in college football, the Falcons have had seven head coaches. 1955 Robert V. Whitlow 4–4 1956–1957 Buck Shaw 9–8–2 1958–1977 Ben Martin 96–103–9 1978 Bill Parcells 3–8 1979–1983 Ken Hatfield 26–32–1 1984–2006 Fisher DeBerry 169–107–1 2007–present Troy Calhoun 137–94
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. 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 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.
Players
Notable NFL Alumni 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
All-Americans 1956Larry ThomsonFBLittle America (3rd)1958Brock StromOLConsensusRobert BrickeyHBHelms1963Terry IsaacsonQBHelmsJoe RodwellCHelms1966Neal StarkeyDBPlayboy Magazine All-American1967Neal StarkeyDBAssociated Press (3rd)1969Ernie JenningsWRCentral Press (2nd)1970Ernie JenningsWRConsensus1971Orderia MitchellCBlack SportsGene OgilvieDEUPI (3rd)1972Orderia MitchellCAssociated Press (2nd), Gridiron (2nd)Gene OgilvieDEUPI (2nd)1973Steve HeilROVAssociated Press (3rd)1974Dave LawsonLB/KFootball Writers1975Dave LawsonLB/KUPI (2nd), Football News (2nd)1981Johnny JacksonDBAssociated Press (2nd)1982Dave SchreckOGAssociated Press (2nd)1983John KershnerFBFootball News (2nd)Mike KirbyWRSporting News (2nd)1985Mark SimonPScripps Howard, Associated Press (2nd)Scott ThomasDBConsensus, Walter Camp, Kodak, Football Writes, Associated Press (2nd)1986Terry MakiLBKodak, Football News (2nd), Associated Press (3rd)Tom RotelloDBFootball News (2nd)1987Chad HenningsDTConsensus, Walter Camp, Kodak, Football Writers, Associated Press, UPI, Scripps Howard, Sporting News, Football News, Outland Trophy winner1989Dee DowisQBHeisman Trophy finalistRon GrayKRAssociated Press (3rd)1991Jason ChristPAssociated Press (2nd), Football News (3rd)1992Carlton McDonaldDBConsensus, Walter Camp, Kodak, Football Writers, Associated Press, UPI, Scripps Howard, Sporting News1993Chris MacInnisP/KUPI, Associated Press (2nd)1996Beau MorganQBAssociated Press (3rd)1998Chris GizziLBAssociated Press (3rd), Football Writers (2nd)1998Tim CurryDBSporting News (3rd)Frank MindrupOLAmerican Football Foundation (3rd)2001Anthony SchlegelILBSporting News (Freshmen 3rd team)2002Brett HuyserOLSporting News (4th)2007Chad Hall WRRivals (3rd), Sports IllustratedCarson BirdCBSports Illustrated2008Ryan HarrisonKCollege Football News2010Reggie RembertDBAFCA (1st), Associated Press (3rd)
Academic All–Americans
Academic All–Americans at Air Force.
1958Brock StromOT1959Rich MayoQB1960Rich MayoQBDon BaucomHB1967Ken ZagzebskiMGCarl JanssenOE1969Ernie JenningsWR1970Ernie JenningsWRBob ParkerQBPhil BaumanLB1971Darryl HaasLB/PBob HomburgDEJohn GriffithDT1972Gene OgilvieDEBob HomburgDEMark PrillMG1973Joe DebesOT1976Steve HoogWR1977Mack McCollumROV1978Steve HoogWRTom FoertschLBTim FydaDE1981Mike FranceLBKevin EwingROV1982Jeff KubiakP1983Jeff KubiakP1987Chad HenningsDTScott SalmonDBJames HeckerDB1988Scott SalmonDBDavid HlatkyOLJames HeckerDB1989Chris HowardHB1990Chris HowardHBJ.T. TokishLB1992Grant JohnsonLB1996Dustin TynerWRRashad PentonDB1997Rashad PentonDB1998Rashad PentonDB2003Ryan CarterDE2004Ryan CarterDE2018Garrett KauppilaDB
Rivals
Commander-in-Chief's Trophy Air Force has a traditional rivalry against the other two FBS service academies, Army and Navy; the three play for the right to hold the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. Air Force has won the trophy 21 times, more than either Army or Navy. Commander in Chief's Trophy Winners (AF-Army-Navy): 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989–1992, 1994, 1995, 1997–2002, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2022.
Colorado State Air Force has played more games against Colorado State and Wyoming than any other school, having played each school 60 times since 1957, the Falcons' first season.
Since 1980, the Falcons and Colorado State Rams have competed for the Ram–Falcon Trophy. Air Force holds a 27–15 advantage over Colorado State in games that the trophy has been contested in.
Colorado In 2019 Air Force renewed a rivalry with Colorado, winning at Folsom Field on Sept. 14 by a score of 30–23. The teams had not played since Oct. 5, 1974, a game that Colorado won by a score of 28–27. Air Force won the first meeting between the teams in 1958. The 1963 game between the two college football teams was postponed due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The 1973 game, the last one played in Boulder before the 2019 clash, was marred by a riot. Fans threw eggs and beer at Air Force personnel and cadets.
Hawaii The Kuter Trophy is awarded to the winner of the game between Air Force and Hawaii. The trophy is named after General Laurence S. Kuter, who was appointed the first head of the Pacific Air Forces Command (located at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu) in 1957. The two teams have met 23 times, with Air Force leading the series 14–8–1.
Top 10 rivals Below are Air Force's records against its top ten most-played opponents since 1957.
Colorado State 63 40 22 1 Nov 28, 2025 (W 42–21) Wyoming 63 32 28 3 Oct 18, 2025 (W 24–21) Army 60 38 21 1 Nov 1, 2025 (L 17-20) Navy 58 34 24 0 Oct 4, 2025 (L 31–34) New Mexico 42 26 16 0 Nov 22, 2025 (L 3–20) San Diego State 40 22 18 0 Nov 30, 2024 (W 31–20) BYU 30 7 23 0 Sep 11, 2010 (W 35–14) Notre Dame 30 6 24 0 Oct 26, 2013 (L 10–45) Utah 27 14 13 0 Oct 30, 2010 (L 23–28) UNLV 26 18 8 0 Oct 11, 2025 (L 48–51)
Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of February 6, 2025.
Duquesne Lafayette at UTSA at Arizona Navy Arizona UTSA Army Navy Army Navy Army Navy Baylor Navy Army at Army Army Navy at Navy at Army at Navy at Army at Navy UConn at Navy at Army at Navy at Navy at Army at Army Army
References
External links