Football
Sep 13 (Sat)
7:45 pm MT
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 719-333-3836
Click Here To Email Coach Troy Calhoun
The purpose of the United States Air Force Academy is to develop young people of strong character who graduate and serve as outstanding leaders on active duty and beyond. It’s a purpose Troy Calhoun, who enters his 18th season, thoroughly respects, and realizes is necessary for our country. Calhoun left the Houston Texans of the NFL as an offensive coordinator in 2007 to embrace the mission of the Air Force Academy and to build a service academy program that often earns a postseason bid while playing in one of college football’s best conferences.
Air Force student-athletes must complete the nation’s most demanding academic curriculum while further embedding the heart and character that are crucial for serving the nation. Cadets at the Academy must work through courses that require finishing over 140 semester hours. Strong character traits, to include respect, teamwork, courage, spirit, discipline, honesty and toughness, are the bedrock of the leadership qualities Air Force football players utilize while serving as officers in the United States Air Force.
Calhoun’s players are extraordinarily successful finishing their academic and leadership responsibilities. The Air Force football team’s NCAA APR (Academic Progress Report) is annually amongst the finest at the FBS level of college football. From May 2008 through the present, Air Force Football’s multi-year APR has finished above the nation’s 90th percentile 13 of the last 16 years. In addition to being one of the nation’s best in regard to the NCAA’s APR, as astounding 99 percent of seniors who have played for Calhoun since 2007 have graduated from the Academy and served as officers for our nation.
Calhoun and his staff have come up with a way to manage the varied demands of their players and lead them into a cohesive team that has fared quite well both on and off the field in his 17 seasons as head coach. He has guided the Falcons to a service academy record 13 bowl games, including a program-record six straight from 2007-12. Calhoun is the first coach in the 100-plus year history of service academy football to lead teams to a post-season bid in his first six years. He’s also the all-time service academy leader in bowl championships with eight (2009 Armed Forces, 2010 Independence, 2014 Idaho Potato, 2016 Arizona, 2019 Cheez-It, 2021 First Responder, 2022 Armed Forces and 2023 Armed Forces).
Calhoun has a 135-89 record in 18 years. Calhoun, who won his 100th game during the 2020 season, has led the program to 12 winning seasons, including an 11-win season (2019), four 10-win seasons (2014, 2016, 2021, 2022), three nine-win seasons (2007, 2010, 2023) and three with eight wins (2008, 2009, 2015). The Falcons have won two Mountain West Mountain Division titles (2015, 2021) and played in the championship game in 2015. Air Force is 40-12 during the last four non-COVID seasons. During this stretch, Calhoun remains one of just four head coaches with their current program to win 40-plus games, joining Dabe Swinney of Clemson, Kirby Smart of Georgia and Ohio State’s Ryan Day. Air Force’s astounding 2019-23 run of full seasons is the only time in service academy has posted four-straight nine-win seasons in the history of service academy football. The Falcons are 23-9 in Mountain West play over the same period and have won a division title and finished second twice.
Air Force was 5-7 last season, playing with the most-inexperienced team in the nation. The Falcons had just four returning starters on offense and defense and had nation-high 42 players make the first start of their career. The Falcons finished the season with a four-game winning streak and enter 2025 with the nation’s fourth-longest active streak. Air Force led the nation in yards per completion (17.37) and finished second in time of possession (33:50) and fewest penalties (28.83).
Air Force was 9-4 in 2023 and won a record 16th bowl championship, defeating No. 24/25 James Madison in the Armed Forces Bowl, the program’s fifth-straight bowl win. The Falcons led the nation in fewest penalties per game (3.0) and fewest penalty yards per game (24.77). Both low penalty marks were school records. The program led the nation in passing yards per completion (20.09) and finished second in passing yards per attempt (10.52). Air Force was second in the nation in rushing (281.5). Defensively the Falcons were strong in several categories, finishing fifth in fewest first downs allowed (191), sixth in total defense (277.7) and sixth in rushing defense (90.8). The Falcons appeared in the national rankings in the regular season for the first time since 2010. Air Force was ranked 25th in the initial College Football Playoff poll, earning the program’s first-ever ranking.
Air Force was 10-3 in 2022 and won a record 21st Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy title and defeated Baylor to win the Armed Forces Bowl. The Baylor victory marks the fourth consecutive bowl win and third straight over a Power 5 program. The Falcons won a program-record six national statistical titles in 2022, including a third straight rushing title with a 326.7 average. The program finished the season with the top-ranked total defense for the first time in program history, allowing just 254.4 yards per game. The Falcons are just the second non-Power 5 team in the last 31 years to win the national title in total defense. Air Force won the title for fewest penalty yards per game (29.69), time of possession for the second straight season (36:33) and in yards per completion (22.3). Senior fullback Brad Roberts became the first Falcon to win the national title in rushing yards with a school-record 1,728.
The Falcons were 10-3 overall and tied for the Mountain Division title with a 6-2 record in 2021. The Falcons capped the 2021 season with another bowl championship with a 31-28 win over Louisville. Air Force capped a historic 2019 season with a 31-21 win over Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl. The win gave Air Force an 11-2 overall record. The 11 wins are the most this century. The Falcons closed the season with an eight-game winning streak, the program’s longest in one season since 1998. The eight-game streak trailed only national champion LSU’s 16-game streak. Air Force finished second in the Mountain West Mountain Division with a 7-1 mark, the best MW record in program history and tied for the most conference wins all-time.
Under Calhoun’s guidance, the 2016 team finished 10-3 overall, posting just the sixth 10-win season in school history and second under Calhoun. Air Force won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the 20th time and also won an Arizona Bowl championship.
Air Force won the Mountain Division championship in 2015 and earned a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl, while extending its school record home winning streak to 12 games, posting a 6-0 home mark for the second straight year. Calhoun was named the 2015 National Football Foundation, Colorado chapter, coach of the year for his efforts.
Calhoun’s 2014 team finished 10-3 overall. Calhoun was named as a finalist for the Maxwell National Coach of the Year. The Falcons qualified for their seventh bowl game in eight years, and by winning the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, captured their third bowl championship since 2009. Air Force defeated Army and Navy to win its 19th Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy and its third CINC title in the last five years. The Falcons were also one of just two teams nationally to beat two 10-win teams in the regular season. The Falcons beat Boise State and in-state rival Colorado State, who each won 10-plus games. Air Force’s 10-win season was the first this century for the Academy. The team finished 6-0 at home for just the third time in school history. Calhoun’s 2007 squad also finished 6-0 at home.
Air Force earned a bid in 2012 to the Armed Forces Bowl. Air Force won its second straight Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy in 2011, the first back-to-back titles at the Academy since 2001-02 and earned their fifth straight bowl game in the Military Bowl. The 2010 Air Force team finished 9-4 overall and won Air Force’s 17th Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy championship with wins over Army and Navy. The Falcons closed the 2010 season with a victory over Georgia Tech of the ACC in the Independence Bowl. Calhoun was named Coach of the Year by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
The 2009 Air Force team finished 8-5 overall and concluded with a convincing 47-20 win over 25th-ranked Houston in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. Air Force set 13 Academy bowl team records in the dominant victory. Calhoun was named Coach of the Year by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation for his efforts.
Calhoun’s 2007 and 2008 Air Force teams finished 9-4 and 8-5, respectively, and both earned bowl bids. The 2007 Falcons were the only team in Air Force history to win road games at Notre Dame, Utah and Colorado State in the same season. The five-game turnaround from 2006, in which Air Force was 4-8, was the largest in the nation that season by a first-year head coach. The five-game turnaround was the best in school history since the 1958 team had a school-record turnaround of six games.
Air Force’s nine wins tied Calhoun for the most wins ever at a service academy by a first-year head coach, matching the mark set by Ben Martin in 1958. Calhoun was named the Mountain West Conference’s Coach of the Year for his efforts. In addition, he was named Coach of the Year in Region 5 by the American Football Coaches Association and was one of eight finalists for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award. He was also one of seven finalists for the AFCA National Coach of the Year award.
Calhoun brought to Air Force a wealth of experience at the collegiate and professional levels that was flooded with success at every stop prior to the Academy. Calhoun came to the Academy after serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Houston Texans in 2006. The Texans were one of only two NFL teams to triple their number of wins from the previous year. On offense, the Texans had the NFL’s leading receiver (Pro Bowler Andre Johnson with 103 catches), the NFL’s best quarterback completion percentage (68.4 percent) and their quarterback tied a NFL record against Buffalo with 22 straight completions.
Calhoun became a well-rounded NFL coach, working as a defensive assistant, special teams assistant and offensive assistant with the Denver Broncos from 2003-05. He began his NFL coaching career by serving on the defensive side of the ball in 2003. He helped coach the NFL’s fourth-best defense. The Broncos’ defense ranked seventh against the run and sixth against the pass. Denver’s defense yielded a mere 17.6 points per game as they made the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
In 2004, Calhoun moved to become an assistant on offense and worked with the special teams. The offense ranked fifth in the NFL, averaging 395.8 yards per game. Calhoun worked closely with Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan in the 2005 season, serving as the assistant to the head coach. The Broncos won the AFC West title for the 10th time in their history and played for the AFC Championship game for the first time in seven seasons. Their 14-4 record was the best since Denver finished the 1998 season as winners of Super Bowl XXXIII. The offense finished fifth in the NFL averaging 360.4 yards per game. The defense was stout against the run, finishing second in the NFL with 85.2 yards per game. Denver finished with an undefeated record at home during the regular season for the fifth time in team history. During Calhoun’s three years in Denver, the Broncos made the playoffs every season, averaging over 11 wins a year.
Prior to the NFL, Calhoun was an offensive coordinator for six seasons on the collegiate level. He began his coaching career at Air Force, where he worked as a graduate assistant from 1989-90. He started at quarterback for the Academy in 1986 and was one of only two freshmen to letter for the 1985 team.
Calhoun served his country from 1989-95 as an active-duty officer in the Air Force. He was an assistant coach for the Falcons in 1993-94. He moved to Ohio University in the spring of 1995 where he served as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons. Calhoun was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1997. The Bobcats defeated Maryland in 1997, marking the school’s first win against a team from the ACC in school history. The `97 Bobcats’ 8-3 record was the school’s best in 29 years. During his last season at Ohio in 2000, the Bobcats beat two bowl teams, Minnesota and Marshall, for the first time in school history. Calhoun’s 2000 offense set a school record with 418.1 yards per game.
Calhoun moved to Wake Forest in 2001. The Demon Deacons were one of only seven teams in the country in 2001 to score more than 30 points in each of the final four games. During his second season in 2002 Wake led the ACC in total offense with 408.1 yards per game. His offense had a league-best 990 plays and was efficient with the ball, committing only 16 turnovers, fewest in the ACC. The 2001 season culminated with a 38-17 bowl victory over Oregon to give Wake Forest its first back-to-back winning seasons since the ACC expanded from eight teams.
Calhoun was raised in a home where both kids graduated from the Air Force Academy and were varsity letter winners on nationally ranked teams. Calhoun’s younger sister, Callie, is a 1991 Academy graduate. She was a 10-time track and cross country All-American who won six NCAA national titles. Troy Calhoun graduated from the Academy in 1989 as a member of the superintendent’s list by earning over a 3.0 grade point average along with a military performance average of better than 3.0. He also completed a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Oklahoma City University in 1992. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Colorado Springs and have two children, Tyler (23) and Amelia (21). Calhoun and his wife, Amanda, have a strong respect and affinity for the members of our armed services and are very involved with numerous charitable and community endeavors.
CALHOUN'S COACHING LEDGER
2007-Pres.: Head Coach, Air Force
2006: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Houston Texans
2005: Assistant to Head Coach, Denver Broncos
2004: Offensive Assistant/ Special Teams, Denver Broncos
2003: Defensive Assistant, Denver Broncos
2001-02: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Wake Forest
1997-2000: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Ohio University
1995-96: Quarterbacks, Ohio University
1993-94: Recruiting Coordinator/ JV Offensive Coordinator, Air Force
1989-90: Graduate Assistant, Air Force
Background / Honors
Sixth coach in Air Force history
1989 graduate of the Academy
First Academy graduate to be head coach
4 years in the NFL
2007 MWC coach of the year
2007 Region 5 coach of the year Finalist for national coach of the year
2007 Tied as the winningest first-year head coach in school history
Winningest first-year head coach in school history for conference games
