Air Force Falcons football

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

† Co-champions

Division championships

Conference Championship Game appearances

Air Force has appeared in 2 conference championship games in their history, winning 1 of them.

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.

Head coaches

Main article: List of Air Force Falcons head football coaches

In over 60 years of play in college football, the Falcons have had seven head coaches.

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 6621 ft 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

Academic All–Americans

Academic All–Americans at Air Force.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of February 6, 2025.

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.

References

References

1. "Archived copy".
2. "Air Force Falcons Bowls".
3. [http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/afa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/HistorySection2013.pdf 2013 Air Force football media guide.] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-09-27 Retrieved 2013-Sep-25.)
4. "Air Force Football record By Year".
5. "airforcesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3000&KEY=&ATCLID=157958&SPID=804&SPSID=22383".
6. Mayer, Larry. (2013-05-12). "Tryout players followed unusual path to minicamp". [[Chicago Bears]].
7. "Archived copy".
8. "Air Force Falcons Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com.
9. "Remsberg scores in OT, Air Force beats Colorado 30-23".
10. (12 September 2019). "Why renewal of CU Buffs-Air Force football game "should've been done a long time ago"".
11. (13 September 2019). "Why renewal of CU Buffs-Air Force football game "should've been done a long time ago"".
12. (15 July 2015). "CU football: Buffs renew old rivalry with Air Force".
13. (June 26, 2011). "UH hopes to revive trophy games in Mountain West". [[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]].
14. (November 16, 2012). "1–8 Warriors battle Air Force for Kuter Trophy on national television". [[KHON-TV]].
15. (November 16, 2012). "Trophy, rivalry back in play as UH takes on Air Force". [[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]].
16. (November 17, 2012). "Air Force beats Hawaii to become bowl eligible". [[CBS Sports]].
17. "Air Force Falcons Head-to-Head Results". Sports-Reference.com.