Air Force Falcons
| Air Force Falcons | |
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| University | United States Air Force Academy |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Mountain West Conference Atlantic Hockey ECAC Lacrosse League Mountain Pacific Sports Federation National Collegiate Boxing Association Western Wrestling Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Hans J. Mueh |
| Location | Colorado Springs, CO |
| Varsity teams | 29 (including 2 non-NCAA) |
| Football stadium | Falcon Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Clune Arena |
| Other arenas | Cadet Fieldhouse |
| Mascot | The Bird |
| Nickname | Falcons |
| Fight song | "Falcon Fight Song" (unofficial: "The U.S. Air Force") |
| Colors | Blue and Silver
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| Homepage | Official Air Force Athletics site |
The Air Force Falcons are the collegiate athletic teams that represent the United States Air Force Academy, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The intercollegiate program has 17 men's and 10 women's NCAA-sanctioned teams. Men’s teams are football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, cross-country, fencing, golf, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track, lacrosse, rifle, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo and wrestling. The Academy fields women's teams in basketball, cross-country, fencing, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track, swimming and diving, soccer, tennis and volleyball. In addition, the Academy sponsors two non-NCAA programs: boxing and cheerleading.
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 winner in the event of a three-way tie).
The current athletic director is Hans J. Mueh.
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Team name origin [edit]
The falcon mascot was selected by popular vote of the Academy's Class of 1959, the first class to graduate from the Academy. The team mascot is "The Bird".
Baseball [edit]
Air Force enjoyed some success on the baseball diamond in its early years, earning six berths to the NCAA Division I playoffs (1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969). The Falcons, however, never advanced beyond the district/regional rounds. The closest they have come to earning a NCAA berth since 1969 was in 2000, when the Falcons lost to San Diego State in the MWC tournament championship game (which would have earned an automatic berth).
The baseball program plays home games at Falcon Baseball Field on campus.[1]
Basketball [edit]
Men's basketball [edit]
The men's basketball team has had strong showings in the last several years, qualifying for the NCAA tournament and, most recently, making the final four of the 2007 National Invitational Tournament. The best player in Air Force history (According to ESPN) is Bob Beckel, who scored 50 points in a game against Arizona in 1959 and scored over 45 points on 3 other occasions. The best Coach in Air Force history is Bob Spear, who coached for 15 years (1956–1971), had a Career record of 177-175, and led the Falcons to 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances.
- NCAA Tournament appearances: 1960, 1962, 2004, 2006
- NIT Tournament appearances: 2007 (semifinals)
- Mountain West Conference champions: 2004 Regular Season
Women's basketball [edit]
The women's basketball team competed at the Division II level in both the AIAW and NCAA from 1976-1996. Since then, the team has competed at the Division I level.
- NCAA Tournament appearances: 1985, 1990
- AIAW National Tournament appearances: 1979, 1980
Boxing [edit]
The Air Force boxing team has had astonishing success. Led for 31 years by Coach Ed Weichers, the team has won 18 National Collegiate Boxing Association championships, and until 2009, had never finished lower than second in the nation. In 2009, the team finished third in the Nation.
Fencing [edit]
Football [edit]
Ice hockey [edit]
From 2007-2009, the men's hockey team won three straight Atlantic Hockey conference tournaments, and made three straight appearances in the NCAA Division I hockey tournament. Their 2007 appearance in the NCAA tournament was the first ever by a service academy. In the East Regional of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Air Force upset top seed Michigan 2-0, and just missed going to the Frozen Four in a 3-2 double overtime loss to Vermont.
Wrestling [edit]
The Falcon wrestling team began competition in 1957 and currently competes in the Western Wrestling Conference (since the Mountain West doesn't sponsor wrestling). Home wrestling events are held at either the Cadet East Gym or at Clune Arena. The team is currently coached by Joel Sharratt, a former national champion for the University of Iowa and legendary coach Dan Gable.
- WAC Team Championships: 1 (1991)
- All-Academy Wrestling Championships: 4 (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002)
- NCAA National Champions: 1
- NCAA All-Americans: 11
- WWC/West Regional Champions: 9
- WAC Champions: 18
- MIWA Champions: 18
Notable club sports [edit]
Rugby [edit]
The Air Force rugby program was created in 1968 and began competing in college rugby in 1980. Air Force competes in the west division of the College Premier Division against rivals such as Colorado State and Wyoming.[2] Air Force has been one of the most successful programs in college rugby. Air Force finished as one of the top 3 teams in the country 11 times from 1980-1995, including back-to-back national championships in 1989 and 1990. More recently, Air Force were national champions again in 2003 and third place in 2004.[3] Several Air Force players have gone on to play for the US men's national rugby team. Air Force won the 2012 Rocky Mountain 7s tournament to qualify for the 2012 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.[4]
Facilities [edit]
- Cadet Fieldhouse
- Cadet Ice Arena (cap. 2,502) – part of the Cadet Fieldhouse
- Clune Arena (cap. 5,939) – part of the Cadet Fieldhouse
- Eisenhower Golf course
- Falcon Baseball Field (cap. 1,000)[5]
- Falcon Stadium (cap. 52,480)
- Jacks Valley
- Soccer stadium
- Cadet Lacrosse Stadium[6]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Falcon Baseball Field at goairforcefalcons.com, URL accessed December 27, 2010. Archived 12-27-2010
- ^ USA Rugby, College Conferences, http://www.usarugby.org/#cc%3D%5BApplication%5D%5C%5CStructure%5C%5CContent%5C%5CBrand%20Resource%20Center%5C%5CContent%5C%5CHome%5C%5C21D9415F-129C-3D1E-45B7-71078B463B81%5C%5C23181D59-131F-BE4F-E441-2B48F8B651A9%7B%7BTab%3AView%7D%7D
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_rugby
- ^ Rugby Mag, Air Force Flies at Rocky Mountain 7s, Oct. 21, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/collegiate-sevens/6168-air-force-flies-at-rocky-mountain-7s.html
- ^ See Mountain West Conference#Conference facilities.
- ^ Image caption.
External links [edit]
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