Staff Directory

Sara Cooper

Title:
Assistant AD - Recruiting
Email:
Phone:
719-333-9272

Sara Cooper is the Assistant Athletic Director for Recruiting. She joined the athletic recruiting team in 2026, after spending eight years as the director of operations for the Air Force Academy’s fencing program.

Cooper is a 1999 graduate of the Air Force Academy and was a four-year letter winner and team captain of the women’s basketball team.

She served on active duty for nine years as an Air Force personnel officer in various positions, including Section Commander of the 965th AWACS squadron at Tinker AFB (Oklahoma), Chief of AFMC’s Personnel Readiness at Wright Patterson AFB (Ohio), and the Executive Officer to the Director of Training at the USAF Academy (Colorado). In 2008, Cooper transitioned to the Air Force Reserves and served as an Admissions Liaison Officer for the Academy, mentoring and evaluating service academy applicants in Europe, Washington D.C., and Southern Colorado. She retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in June 2023, after 24 years of service.

Cooper is originally from Littleton, Colo. Her husband, Col. Cory Cooper, is a 2000 graduate of USAFA and is the Permanent Professor and Head of the Department of Engineering Mechanics at the Air Force Academy. They have three children: Kala, Hannah, and David.