CU athletic director Rick George and his Air Force counterpart Jim Knowlton on Wednesday jointly announced that the two schools, located just 84 miles apart, will resume their football rivalry with a home-and-home series set for the years 2020 and 2022.
The institutions have agreed on a contract that is in the process of being signed, but will have the Falcons visit Boulder on Sept. 12, 2020, with the Buffaloes returning the game on Sept. 10, 2022; it will be the second game of each season for both schools. The fairly standard agreement has each school designating 3,000 tickets for the other when they are the visitor.
The two institutions haven’t met on the gridiron since Oct. 5, 1974, when the the Buffaloes escaped with a 28-27 victory. Colorado leads the rivalry with a 12-4 record.
“The renewal of this rivalry will be great for the state,” George said. “Nearly two generations have come and gone since we last played Air Force in football, and I’ve often heard from fans that they’d like to see them back on our schedule.
In addition, the school’s men’s basketball teams have agreed to extend their rivalry, as the Buffs and Falcons will meet on the hardcourt the next four seasons, twice in Boulder (this fall and in 2017-18) and twice at the USAFA (2016-17, 2018-19).
“This is great for college football and great for our state,” Knowlton said. “I think both fan bases will be thrilled to see that we are playing in football, as our schools have enjoyed healthy scheduling in other sports.”
The game in 2020 will take place in Boulder, while the 2020 game will be played in Colorado Springs.
“Air Force has an excellent football program led by Troy Calhoun,” CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “He is a very respected coach in our business and someone I have had to pleasure to get to know. It will be an honor to once again play the service academy right down the road from us.”
Bryce Rudnick, a Mile High Sports intern and CU-Boulder student, contributed to this report