The Air Force Falcons football program represents the United States Air Force Academy in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) 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 Colorado Springs, Colorado. 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 (or retained by the previous year's winner in the event of a three–way tie). 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 29 bowl games in their history, with a record. Their highest finish in the polls was fifth (UPI coaches) in 1985. Head coaches In over 60 years of play in college football, the Falcons have had seven head coaches. Top