ATHLETICS
Posted 7/18/2011
Printable Fact Sheet
Few schools in the country have an athletic program as extensive as the Air Force Academy's.
The goals of the athletic program are to enhance the physical conditioning of all cadets, to develop the physical skills necessary for officership, to teach leadership in a competitive environment and to build character. There are three subdivisions of the athletic program: intercollegiate, intramural and physical education.
The intercollegiate program has 17 men's and 10 women's NCAA sanctioned teams. They face some of the top competition in the nation. 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.
Both men's and women's programs compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons compete in this conference against teams from Brigham Young University, New Mexico, Colorado State, San Diego State, Texas Christian University, Wyoming, Utah and the University of Nevada - Las Vegas. All sports teams also compete against non-conference opponents, including many nationally ranked teams.
The football team competes annually for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which is emblematic of service academy football supremacy. The Falcons have won the trophy 17 times, which is more than Army and Navy combined. The winner of the annual rivalry visits with White House to have the trophy presented by the president of the United States.
(Current as of July 2011)
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