The Air Force Falcons football team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the United States Air Force Academy. Since 1999, the Falcons have competed as a charter member of the Mountain West Conference.
Overall, Air Force has participated in 30 bowl games, and has a 16–13–1 all-time postseason record. The first Air Force bowl game was the 1959 Cotton Bowl, a 0–0 tie with TCU. This was one of two major bowls Air Force has played in, the other being a 34–13 loss to Tennessee in the 1971 Sugar Bowl. The team regularly participated in bowl games in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, as coach Fisher DeBerry led the team to 12 bowl games between 1984 and 2002. Current coach Troy Calhoun has led the team to thirteen bowl games since 2007, with a 31-21 win over James Madison in the 2023 Armed Forces Bowl being the latest bowl game for Air Force. The bowl games most frequented by Air Force has been the Armed Forces Bowl, with seven total appearances (including three straight from 2007–2009), followed by the Liberty Bowl (four straight from 1989–1992).
Results
W
|
Win
|
L
|
Loss
|
T
|
Tie
|
List of bowl games showing bowl played in, score, date, season, opponent, stadium, location, attendance and head coach[A 1]
#
|
Bowl
|
Score[A 2]
|
Date
|
Season[A 3]
|
Opponent[A 4]
|
Stadium
|
Location
|
Attendance
|
Head coach
|
1
|
Cotton Bowl
|
T 0–0
|
January 1, 1959
|
1958
|
TCU Horned Frogs
|
Cotton Bowl
|
Dallas
|
75,504
|
Ben Martin
|
2
|
Gator Bowl
|
L 0–35
|
December 28, 1963
|
1963
|
North Carolina Tar Heels
|
Gator Bowl Stadium
|
Jacksonville
|
50,018
|
Ben Martin
|
3
|
Sugar Bowl
|
L 13–34
|
January 1, 1971
|
1970
|
Tennessee Volunteers
|
Tulane Stadium
|
New Orleans
|
75,087
|
Ben Martin
|
4
|
Hall of Fame Classic
|
W 36–28
|
December 31, 1982
|
1982
|
Vanderbilt Commodores
|
Legion Field
|
Birmingham
|
75,000
|
Ken Hatfield
|
5
|
Independence Bowl
|
W 9–3
|
December 10, 1983
|
1983
|
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Independence Stadium
|
Shreveport
|
41,274
|
Ken Hatfield
|
6
|
Independence Bowl
|
W 23–7
|
December 15, 1984
|
1984
|
Virginia Tech
|
Independence Stadium
|
Shreveport
|
41,100
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
7
|
Bluebonnet Bowl
|
W 24–16
|
December 31, 1985
|
1985
|
Texas Longhorns
|
Rice Stadium
|
Houston
|
42,000
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
8
|
Freedom Bowl
|
L 28–33
|
December 30, 1987
|
1987
|
Arizona State Sun Devils
|
Anaheim Stadium
|
Anaheim
|
33,261
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
9
|
Liberty Bowl
|
L 29–42
|
December 28, 1989
|
1989
|
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|
Memphis
|
33,261
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
10
|
Liberty Bowl
|
W 23–11
|
December 27, 1990
|
1990
|
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|
Memphis
|
13,144
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
11
|
Liberty Bowl
|
W 31–15
|
December 29, 1991
|
1991
|
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|
Memphis
|
61,497
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
12
|
Liberty Bowl
|
L 0–13
|
December 31, 1992
|
1992
|
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|
Memphis
|
32,107
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
13
|
Copper Bowl
|
L 41–55
|
December 27, 1995
|
1995
|
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
Arizona Stadium
|
Tucson
|
41,004
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
14
|
Las Vegas Bowl
|
L 13–41
|
December 20, 1997
|
1997
|
Oregon Ducks
|
Sam Boyd Stadium
|
Whitney
|
21,514
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
15
|
Oahu Bowl
|
W 43–25
|
December 25, 1998
|
1998
|
Washington Huskies
|
Aloha Stadium
|
Honolulu
|
34,083
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
16
|
Silicon Valley Football Classic
|
W 37–34
|
December 31, 2000
|
2000
|
Fresno State Bulldogs
|
Spartan Stadium
|
San Jose
|
26,542
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
17
|
San Francisco Bowl
|
L 13–20
|
December 31, 2002
|
2002
|
Virginia Tech Hokies
|
Pacific Bell Park
|
San Francisco
|
25,966
|
Fisher DeBerry
|
18
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
L 36–42
|
December 31, 2007
|
2007
|
California Golden Bears
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
40,905
|
Troy Calhoun
|
19
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
L 28–34
|
December 31, 2008
|
2008
|
Houston Cougars
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
41,127
|
Troy Calhoun
|
20
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
W 47–20
|
December 31, 2009
|
2009
|
Houston Cougars
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
41,414
|
Troy Calhoun
|
21
|
Independence Bowl
|
W 14–7
|
December 27, 2010
|
2010
|
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
|
Independence Stadium
|
Shreveport
|
39,362
|
Troy Calhoun
|
22
|
Military Bowl
|
L 41–42
|
December 28, 2011
|
2011
|
Toledo Rockets
|
RFK Stadium
|
Washington, D.C.
|
25,042
|
Troy Calhoun
|
23
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
L 14–33
|
December 29, 2012
|
2012
|
Rice Owls
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
40,754
|
Troy Calhoun
|
24
|
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
|
W 38–24
|
December 20, 2014
|
2014
|
Western Michigan Broncos
|
Albertsons Stadium
|
Boise
|
18,223
|
Troy Calhoun
|
25
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
L 36–55
|
December 29, 2015
|
2015
|
California Golden Bears
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
38,915
|
Troy Calhoun
|
26
|
Arizona Bowl
|
W 45–21
|
December 30, 2016
|
2016
|
South Alabama Jaguars
|
Arizona Stadium
|
Tucson
|
33,868
|
Troy Calhoun
|
27
|
Cheez-It Bowl
|
W 31–21
|
December 27, 2019
|
2019
|
Washington State Cougars
|
Chase Field
|
Phoenix
|
34,105
|
Troy Calhoun
|
28
|
First Responder Bowl
|
W 31–28
|
December 28, 2021
|
2021
|
Louisville Cardinals
|
Gerald J. Ford Stadium
|
Dallas
|
15,251
|
Troy Calhoun
|
29
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
W 30–15
|
December 31, 2022
|
2022
|
Baylor Bears
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
43,875
|
Troy Calhoun
|
30
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
W 31–21
|
December 23, 2023
|
2023
|
James Madison Dukes
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
30,828
|
Troy Calhoun
|
- ^ Statistics correct as of 2019–20 NCAA football bowl games.
- ^ Results are sortable first by whether the result was an Air Force win, loss or tie and then second by the margin of victory.
- ^ Links to the season article for the Air Force team that competed in the bowl for that year.
- ^ Links to the season article for the opponent that Air Force competed against in the bowl for that year when available or to their general page when unavailable.
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