Air Force Falcons football


The Air Force Falcons football program represents the United States Air Force Academy in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision 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.
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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.

Championships

Conference championships

† Co-champions

Conference Championship Game appearances

Air Force has appeared in 2 conference championship games in their history, winning 1 of them.
1998WACFisher DeBerryBYUW 20–13N/A
2015Mountain WestTroy CalhounSan Diego StateL 24–27Christian Chapman
Na'im McGee

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 in 1985.
1958CottonTCUT 0–0Ben Martin9–0–2
1963GatorNorth CarolinaL 0–35Ben Martin7–4
1970SugarTennesseeL 13–34Ben Martin9–3
1982Hall of FameVanderbiltW 36–28Ken Hatfield8–5
1983IndependenceOle MissW 9–3Ken Hatfield10–2
1984IndependenceVirginia TechW 23–7Fisher DeBerry8–4
1985BluebonnetTexasW 24–16Fisher DeBerry12–1
1987FreedomArizona StateL 28–33Fisher DeBerry9–4
1989LibertyOle MissL 29–42Fisher DeBerry8–4–1
1990LibertyOhio StateW 23–11Fisher DeBerry7–5
1991LibertyMississippi StateW 31–15Fisher DeBerry10–3
1992LibertyOle MissL 0–13Fisher DeBerry7–5
1995CopperTexas TechL 41–55Fisher DeBerry8–5
1997Las VegasOregonL 13–41Fisher DeBerry10–3
1998OahuWashingtonW 43–25Fisher DeBerry12–1
2000Silicon ValleyFresno StateW 37–34Fisher DeBerry9–3
2002San FranciscoVirginia TechL 13–20Fisher DeBerry8–5
2007Armed ForcesCaliforniaL 36–42Troy Calhoun9–4
2008Armed ForcesHoustonL 28–34Troy Calhoun8–5
2009Armed ForcesHoustonW 47–20Troy Calhoun8–5
2010IndependenceGeorgia TechW 14–7Troy Calhoun9–4
2011MilitaryToledoL 41–42Troy Calhoun7–6
2012Armed ForcesRiceL 14–33Troy Calhoun6–7
2014Idaho PotatoWestern MichiganW 38–24Troy Calhoun10–3
2015Armed ForcesCaliforniaL 36–55Troy Calhoun8–6
2016ArizonaSouth AlabamaW 45–21Troy Calhoun10–3
2019Cheez-ItWashington StateW 31–21Troy Calhoun11–2
2021First ResponderLouisvilleW 31–28Troy Calhoun10–3
2022Armed ForcesBaylorW 30–15Troy Calhoun10–3
2023Armed ForcesJames MadisonW 31–21Troy Calhoun9–4

Head coaches

In over 60 years of play in college football, the Falcons have had seven head coaches.
1955Robert V. Whitlow4–4
1956–1957Buck Shaw9–8–2
1958–1977Ben Martin96–103–9
1978Bill Parcells3–8
1979–1983Ken Hatfield26–32–1
1984–2006Fisher DeBerry169–107–1
2007–presentTroy Calhoun137–94

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.

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.

Notable NFL Alumni

Academic All–Americans

Academic All–Americans at Air Force.
1958Brock StromOT
1959Rich MayoQB
1960Rich MayoQB
1960Don BaucomHB
1967Ken ZagzebskiMG
1967Carl JanssenOE
1969Ernie JenningsWR
1970Ernie JenningsWR
1970Bob ParkerQB
1970Phil BaumanLB
1971Darryl HaasLB/P
1971Bob HomburgDE
1971John GriffithDT
1972Gene OgilvieDE
1972Bob HomburgDE
1972Mark PrillMG
1973Joe DebesOT
1976Steve HoogWR
1977Mack McCollumROV
1978Steve HoogWR
1978Tom FoertschLB
1978Tim FydaDE
1981Mike FranceLB
1981Kevin EwingROV
1982Jeff KubiakP
1983Jeff KubiakP
1987Chad HenningsDT
1987Scott SalmonDB
1987James HeckerDB
1988Scott SalmonDB
1988David HlatkyOL
1988James HeckerDB
1989Chris HowardHB
1990Chris HowardHB
1990J.T. TokishLB
1992Grant JohnsonLB
1996Dustin TynerWR
1996Rashad PentonDB
1997Rashad PentonDB
1998Rashad PentonDB
2003Ryan CarterDE
2004Ryan CarterDE
2018Garrett KauppilaDB

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of February 6, 2025.
DuquesneLafayetteat UTSAat ArizonaNavyArizonaUTSAArmyNavyArmyNavyArmy
NavyBaylorNavyArmyat ArmyArmyNavyat Navyat Armyat Navyat Armyat Navy
UConnat Navyat Armyat Navyat Navyat Army
at ArmyArmy

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.

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 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 State6038211Nov 19, 2022
Wyoming6030273Sep 16, 2022
Army5738181Nov 1, 2025
Navy5533220Oct 4, 2025
New Mexico4026140Nov 12, 2022
San Diego State3820180Nov 26, 2022
BYU307230Sep 11, 2010
Notre Dame306240Oct 26, 2013
Utah2714130Oct 30, 2010
UNLV241860Oct 15, 2022