Air Force Falcons Football Tickets: Falcon Stadium

By the Good Seats editorial teamUpdated October 1, 2026How we research

Upcoming Air Force Falcons Football dates

Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.

Air Force football in brief: the academy that runs the ball

Air Force Falcons football is the U.S. Air Force Academy's team, and its home games are played at Falcon Stadium on the Academy grounds just north of Colorado Springs, from early September through November. The program played its first season in 1955 and has been in the Mountain West Conference since the league was founded in 1999.

Its identity rests on two things. The first is the option offense (a run-first scheme in which the quarterback reads the defense and keeps, pitches or hands off), which has defined Air Force for decades; under Fisher DeBerry, head coach from 1984 to 2006, the Falcons ranked among the nation's top 10 rushing teams 19 times in 21 years. The second is the service-academy rivalry. Air Force has won the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, the annual round-robin among Air Force, Army and Navy, 21 times through 2025, more than Navy (18) or Army (10).

The high point on the field came in 1985, when Air Force went 12–1, won the Bluebonnet Bowl and finished No. 5 in the country. Through its history the program has played in 30 bowl games, with a 16–13–1 record.

Falcon Stadium: the layout and where to sit

Falcon Stadium opened on September 22, 1962, with a 34–0 win over Colorado State. It is built into a natural bowl about two miles southeast of the cadet area, and at 6,621 feet it is the second-highest stadium in FBS college football. The field runs north to south and has had FieldTurf since 2006.

West side vs. east side

The two sidelines are very different. The west side holds the press box and two grandstand tiers stacked above the main bowl. The east side is a single tier topped, since the 2024 season, by an enclosed club that runs from end zone to end zone, built to replace the aluminum bleachers that once sat atop the east bowl. Padded outdoor chairback seats were added on the east side in 2023.

Best overall view: the lower and middle rows of the west sideline between the 30-yard lines, where you see the option develop from the side, with the press box and upper tiers above you.
Best comfort: the east-side chairbacks and the East Club, if indoor seating and hospitality are worth more to you than an open-air seat.
Best for groups: the field-level boxes in the south end zone, which the athletics department has sold in blocks of 12 tickets with food and drink included.
Skip unless the price is right: low rows in the end zones. Option football is played between the tackles, and from behind the goal line the mesh points and pitches are hard to read.

Sun, cold and the climb

Because the field runs north to south, west-side seats keep the afternoon sun behind you, while east-side fans look toward it. The bigger factor is altitude. September afternoons can be warm and bright, and November night games can be bitterly cold. Stadium Journey's review warns that climbing to the upper level is hard work at this elevation, so fans with limited mobility should favor lower rows.

The renovation cut capacity. Falcon Stadium seats 39,441 as of 2024, down from 46,692 before the work and 52,480 in the late 1990s. The record crowd, 56,409, came for Notre Dame in 2002.

Navy, Army and the biggest home games

The service-academy games are the heart of the schedule. The Navy–Air Force game is normally played on the first Saturday in October, and the Army–Air Force game on the first Saturday in November. Air Force hosts Navy in even-numbered years and Army in odd-numbered years, so 2026 is a Navy year at Falcon Stadium and 2027 brings Army back to Colorado Springs. Navy won the trophy in both 2024 and 2025.

For the Army side of the series, see Army Black Knights Football. The third leg, the Army-Navy Game, is played in December at a neutral NFL stadium.

Other games with a following:

Hawaii: the two play for the Kuter Trophy and remain Mountain West opponents.
Colorado State: the Ram-Falcon Trophy has been played since 1980. Colorado State moved to the Pac-12 in 2026, so check the schedule to see whether the in-state game continues.
Notre Dame and other national programs: the stadium's record crowd came when Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football visited in 2002, and a big-name opponent draws demand on the level of the academy games.

Air Force has a long bowl tradition of its own: from 1989 through 1992 the Liberty Bowl invited the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy winner, and Air Force played in all four of those games.

Gameday at the Academy: march-ons, flyovers and tailgating

A home game at the Academy has pageantry no ordinary college game can match. Before kickoff the cadet wing marches onto the field, then sprints to its seats. Military aircraft fly over the stadium; the program has listed the F-15 and B-2 among past flyovers, and parachute teams have dropped into the stadium. Ahead of the 2025 season, the Academy restored mandatory attendance for all of its roughly 4,000 cadets, a reversal of a 2024 policy that had required only part of the wing at most games. Check the program's current notes, since that policy has changed more than once.

Tailgating takes place in the lots around the stadium, with views of Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain. As of the 2026 season, the athletics department's guidance is:

parking lots open four hours before kickoff, and tailgating may start no earlier than that;
tailgating ends two hours after the game;
stadium gates open two hours before kickoff;
outside alcohol is not allowed in the stadium.

The athletics department has also staged a pregame Falcon Walk and a Falcon Alley fan zone with games and food. Check the program's "know before you go" notes for each game.

Getting in: Academy gates, ID and the bag policy

Falcon Stadium is on an active military installation, so getting to your seat involves more than a parking lot. As of the 2026 season:

Gate by lot: fans parking in Lots 1 and 2 are directed to the South Gate; fans in Lots 4 through 6 use the North Gate. Premium reserved parking has been offered in Lots 3R and 4R.
ID: every visitor over 18 must carry a U.S. government-issued ID or a passport. U.S. citizens do not need a base pass or pre-registration on football game days.
Bags: one clear bag (plastic, vinyl or PVC, no larger than 12 by 12 by 12 inches) or a one-gallon clear zip bag, plus a small clutch or fanny pack no larger than about 5.5 by 7.5 inches. Backpacks, umbrellas and smoking or vaping are prohibited. For how these rules compare nationally, see Stadium Bag Policies.

Allow extra time. Traffic funnels through Academy gates before it reaches the stadium lots, and the walk from many lots crosses uneven ground. Check the athletics department's gameday guide for the current rules before you go.

How Air Force tickets work

Air Force sells season tickets, single-game tickets and premium options (the East Club, field-level boxes and reserved parking) through its athletics department. Cadets attend as a body and sit together, so there is no student allotment to buy into the way there is at a state university.

For most of the schedule, a capacity under 40,000 still leaves room for walk-up buyers. The exceptions are Navy in even years, Army in odd years and a visit from a national program. Those games can sell out the reduced stadium, and resale is where most fans find seats for them. Prices on the resale market for an academy game follow the stakes: whether the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is still in play, the weather forecast for a November night, and how far the visiting academy's fans have to travel. Every order on GoodSeats is backed by a 100% guarantee, and Are Resale Tickets Legit? explains how the resale market works.

Frequently asked questions

What is the capacity of Falcon Stadium?

Falcon Stadium seats 39,441 as of 2024, after an east-side renovation reduced capacity. Its record crowd was 56,409 against Notre Dame in 2002.

Do I need an ID to attend an Air Force football game?

Yes. As of the 2026 season, every visitor over 18 needs a U.S. government-issued ID or a passport to enter the Academy. U.S. citizens do not need a base pass on game days.

When does Air Force play Navy and Army at home?

Air Force hosts Navy in even-numbered years, normally on the first Saturday in October, and hosts Army in odd-numbered years, normally in early November.

What is the bag policy at Falcon Stadium?

As of 2026, one clear bag no larger than 12 by 12 by 12 inches or a one-gallon clear zip bag, plus a small clutch. Check the athletics department's current policy before you go.

How high is Falcon Stadium?

The stadium sits at 6,621 feet, the second-highest in FBS college football, so dress in layers and expect a tiring climb to the upper rows.

Air Force Falcons Football Tickets