Air Force scheduled to host pair of Power 5 football programs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BVM) — It’s been 17 years since Air Force last hosted a Power 5 football program at Falcon Stadium, but that drought will officially end starting next year. On Wednesday, Air Force director of athletics Nathan Pine announced a number of future of non-conference matchups for the Falcons, which include visits from the Big 12’s Baylor Bears and the Pac-12’s Colorado Buffaloes.
Colorado will visit Air Force on Sept. 10, 2022 to complete a two-game series that began in 2019 when the Falcons handed the Buffaloes a 30-23 overtime loss in Boulder. The next visit from a Power 5 program is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2027, when Air Force will host Baylor as part of a two-game series that will kick off Sept. 7, 2024, when the Falcons travel to Waco, Texas. The last Power 5 program Air Force hosted was California in 2004.
“We are pleased to announce these important upcoming football games both home and away,” Pine said in a press release. “Our scheduling approach to a 5-year cycle will be a home-home series with a Power 5 opponent, a home-home series with a Group of 5 opponent and one high profile game on the road. … Football scheduling will always be a moving target and our success sometimes makes it challenging so we remain flexible while trying to ensure attractive home games for our local fans and great away games to best showcase Air Force Football nationally.”
The Falcons went 3-3 during their shortened 2020 season and this fall they’ll be looking to get back closer to the level of success they achieved in 2019 when they went 11-2 and earned a Cheez-It Bowl victory over Washington State.
