List of United States Air Force Academy alumni
Table:
Name

Class year

Notability

References

Brock Strom

1959

The Air Force Academy’s first All-American. He gained the honor when players played offense and defense and just 11 were selected. Strom played on the offensive and defensive lines as a 6'0" 217-lb tackle. Captain of the undefeated 1958 USAFA football team that tied TCU in the Cotton Bowl. Inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame, Michigan, in 1977, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985, the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Air Force Academy Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 2007.

Gregg Popovich

1970

Head coach (1997–) of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) San Antonio Spurs who led the team to NBA championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014; three-time NBA Coach of the Year (2003, 2012, 2014)

[67]

Len Salvemini

1975

1972 Third Team and 1974 Second Team All American soccer player. Holds Falcon career goals and points records. Played for 1976 U.S. Olympic Soccer Team. Played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

[68]

Randall W. Spetman

1976

Athletic Director at Florida State University (2008–); former Athletic Director at the Academy (1996–2003) and Utah State University (2004–2008)

[69]

Bob Djokovich

1978

Team handball player which competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics Los Angeles and 6th President of USA Team Handball

[70]

Tom Schneeberger

1978

Team handball player which competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics Los Angeles, United States men's national basketball team player and ninth round draft choice of the Denver Nuggets in the 1978 NBA Draft.

[70]

William Roy

1981

Former U.S. Olympian and world champion in skeet shooting; Captain of 1996 U.S. Olympic Shooting Team; Professor of English at United States Air Force Academy; Boeing 747 pilot for United Airlines.

[71]

Alonzo Babers

1983

Winner of two gold medals (400m and 4×400m relay) at the 1984 Summer Olympics; Boeing 777 pilot for United Airlines

[72]

Kathy Callaghan

1984

Team handball player which competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics Seoul, she won a gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games Indianapolis, 1986 Military Athlete of the Year and coach of the USAFA Team Handball.

[70][73]

Ted Sundquist

1984

General Manager Denver Broncos (2002–2008); Director of College Scouting (1995–2001)

[74]

Chad Hennings

1988

A-10 Thunderbolt pilot; Winner of the Outland Trophy; Football player for NFL's Dallas Cowboys (1992–2001); earned three Super Bowl rings; 2006 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame

[75]

Troy Calhoun

1989

Head coach of the Air Force football team (2006–); former offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans (2006)

[76]

Dee Dowis

1990

USAFA Quarterback from 1987-1989; set the NCAA Division I career record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 3,612 (broken by Antwaan Randle El in 2001). Against San Diego State University, he set the Western Athletic Conference record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single-game with 249 (broken by Chad Hall on October 13, 2007) and most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single-game with 6.

Dowis is regarded as one of the best option quarterbacks in NCAA history. Dee became the fifth player in Division I history to both pass and rush for 1,000 yards,; was an honorable mention All-American, and was the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year.;
He finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1989, ahead of Emmitt Smith, Ty Detmer, Blair Thomas and Raghib Ismail.
He was inducted into the Franklin County (Ga.) Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, Air Force Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2009 and the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Dowis died in an automobile accident on August 29, 2016. [77]

Bryce Fisher

1999

Played for Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans

Dan Nwaelele

2007

Basketball player, formerly in the NBA D-League and now with Levallois Metropolitans in France

Chad Hall

2008

NFL Wide Receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles 2010-2012; Wide Receiver for San Francisco 49ers 2012-Present

[78]

Ben Garland

2010

NFL Defensive End for the Denver Broncos 2010-2012. Offensive Guard 2012-Present.

[79]

Tom Whitney

2010

Professional Golfer (2010-present)

[80][81]

Jim Walmsley

2012

Ultramarathoner (2014-present)

[82]

Drawing on the accompanying table and the supporting text listed.

Respond to the question below: Who was the first USAFA alum to coach a professional sports team ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

Brock Strom ( born September 21 , 1934 ) is a former American football player , Air Force officer , and engineer .
Gregg Charles Popovich ( born January 28 , 1949 ) is an American professional basketball coach and general manager . He is the head coach and President of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) , and head coach of USA national team . Taking over as coach of the Spurs in 1996 , Popovich is the longest tenured active coach in both the NBA and all major sports leagues in the United States . He is often called Coach Pop or simply Pop . Popovich has the most wins in NBA history ( regular season and playoffs ) , surpassing Lenny Wilkens and Don Nelson on April 13 , 2019 . He has led the Spurs to a winning record in each of his 22 full seasons as head coach , surpassing Phil Jackson for the most consecutive winning seasons in NBA history . During his tenure , the Spurs have had a winning record against every other NBA team . Popovich has led the Spurs to all five of their NBA titles , and is one of only five coaches in NBA history to win five titles .
The National Basketball Association ( NBA ) is a men 's professional basketball league in North America , composed of 30 teams ( 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada ) . It is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada , and is widely considered to be the premier men 's professional basketball league in the world . [ better source needed ] The league was founded in New York City on June 6 , 1946 , as the Basketball Association of America ( BAA ) . It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3 , 1949 , after merging with the competing National Basketball League ( NBL ) . The NBA 's regular season runs from October to April , with each team playing 82 games . Its playoffs extend into June . NBA players are the world 's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player . The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball ( USAB ) , which is recognized by FIBA ( also known as the International Basketball Federation ) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States . The league 's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices in Midtown Manhattan , while its NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus , New Jersey .
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio . The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) as a member of the league 's Western Conference Southwest Division . The team plays its home games at the AT & T Center in San Antonio . The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association ( ABA ) teams to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA-NBA merger and are the only former ABA team to have won an NBA championship . The franchise has won NBA championships in 1999 , 2003 , 2005 , 2007 , and 2014 . As of May 2015 , the Spurs had the highest winning percentage among active NBA franchises . As of May 2017 , the Spurs had the best winning percentage of any franchise in the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada over the previous three decades . From 1999-2000 to 2016-17 , the Spurs won 50 games each season , setting a record of 18 consecutive 50-win seasons . In the 2018-19 season , the Spurs matched an NBA record for most consecutive playoff appearances with 22 . The team 's recent success has coincided with the tenure of current head coach Gregg Popovich and with the playing careers of Spurs icons David Robinson ( 1989-2003 ) and Tim Duncan ( 1997-2016 ) .
The National Basketball Association 's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association ( NBA ) award given since the 1962-63 NBA season . The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy , which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships from 1956 to 1966 . The winner is selected at the end of the regular season by a panel of sportswriters from the United States and Canada , each of whom casts a vote for first , second and third place selections . Each first-place vote is worth five points ; each second-place vote is worth three points ; and each third-place vote is worth one point . The person with the highest point total , regardless of the number of first-place votes , wins the award . Since its inception , the award has been given to 40 different coaches . The most recent award winner is current Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer . Gregg Popovich , Don Nelson and Pat Riley have each won the award three times , while Hubie Brown , Budenholzer , Mike D'Antoni , Bill Fitch , Cotton Fitzsimmons , and Gene Shue have each won it twice . No coach has won consecutive Coach of the Year awards . Riley is the only coach to be named Coach of the Year with three franchises . Larry Bird is the only recipient to have also been named MVP as a player . Tom Heinsohn , Bill Sharman , and Lenny Wilkens are the only recipients to have been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both player and coach .
Len Salvemini ( born July 22 , 1953 in Danville , California ) is a retired American soccer player who spent three season in the Major Indoor Soccer League .
The Major Indoor Soccer League , known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League , was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992 .
Randall William Spetman ( born December 30 , 1952 ) is an American college athletic director who was most recently athletic director at Florida State University from 2008 to 2013 . Spetman has also been the director of athletics at Utah State University and the United States Air Force Academy . He was a vice president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics during the 2009-10 academic year .
Florida State University ( Florida State or FSU ) is a public space-grant and sea-grant research university in Tallahassee , Florida . It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida . Founded in 1851 , it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the state of Florida . The university is classified as a Research University with Very High Research by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching . The university comprises 16 separate colleges and more than 110 centers , facilities , labs and institutes that offer more than 360 programs of study , including professional school programs . The university has an annual budget of over $ 1.7 billion and an annual economic impact of over $ 10 billion . Florida State is home to Florida 's only national laboratory , the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory , and is the birthplace of the commercially viable anti-cancer drug Taxol . Florida State University also operates the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art , the State Art Museum of Florida and one of the largest museum/university complexes in the nation . The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ( SACS ) . For 2020 , U.S. News & World Report ranked Florida State as the 18th best public university in the United States in the national university category . FSU 's intercollegiate sports teams , commonly known by their Florida State Seminoles nickname , compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) . In their 113-year history , Florida State 's varsity sports teams have won 20 national athletic championships and Seminole athletes have won 78 individual NCAA national championships .
Utah State University ( USU or Utah State ) is a public land-grant research university in Logan , Utah . It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities . With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus , USU is Utah 's largest public residential campus . As of Fall 2019 , there were 27,810 students enrolled including 24,669 undergraduate students and 3,141 graduate students . The university has the highest percentage of out-of-state students of any public university in Utah totaling 23% of the student body . Founded in 1888 as Utah 's agricultural college , USU focused on science , engineering , agriculture , domestic arts , military science , and mechanic arts . The university offers programs in liberal arts , engineering , business , economics , natural resource sciences , as well as nationally ranked elementary & secondary education programs . It offers master 's and doctoral programs in humanities , social sciences , and STEM areas ( Science , technology , engineering , and mathematics ) . It received its current name in 1957 . The university is classified among R2 : Doctoral Universities - High research activity . Utah State University has produced 7 Rhodes Scholars , 1 Nobel Prize winner , 1 MacArthur Fellows program inductee , 4 recipients of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship , and 34 recipients of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship . USU has nine colleges and offers 159 undergraduate degrees , 83 master 's degrees , and 41 doctoral degrees .
Robert Ray Djokovich ( born August 10 , 1956 ) is an American former Basketball and Handball player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in handball . He was the 6th President of the USA Team Handball . He was born in Gary , Indiana .
Handball at the 1984 Summer Olympics featured competition for men and women . Due to the USSR-led boycott some strong handball nations from Eastern Bloc did not compete ; this gave an opportunity to the Yugoslav team to take both gold medals . Games were played at Titan Gym in Fullerton , California .
USA Team Handball is the governing body for handball in the United States . USA Team Handball is funded in part by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee . Previously , the governing body was the United States Team Handball Federation . USA Team Handball is led by an 11-person Board of Directors . The President is Michael Wall [ disambiguation needed ] . USA Team Handball organizes the participation of U.S. national teams in international competitions , such as the Summer Olympics and the Pan American Games . The United States men 's national handball team and the United States women 's national handball team have struggled in international competitions against nations where handball is more popular .
Thomas Tom Schneeberger ( born 18 May 1956 ) is an American former handball player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics .
The USA Basketball Men 's National Team , commonly known as the United States men 's national basketball team , is the most successful team in international competition , winning medals in all eighteen Olympic tournaments it has entered , including fifteen golds . In the professional era , the team won the Olympic gold medal in 1992 , 1996 , 2000 , 2008 , 2012 , and 2016 . Two of its gold medal-winning teams were inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2010 - the 1960 team , which featured six Hall of Famers ( 4 players , 2 coaches ) , and the 1992 Dream Team , featuring 14 Hall of Famers ( 11 players , 3 coaches ) . The team is currently ranked first in the FIBA World Rankings . Traditionally composed of amateur players , the U.S. dominated the first decades of international basketball , winning a record seven consecutive Olympic gold medals . However , by the end of the 1980s , American amateurs were no longer competitive against seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia . In 1989 , FIBA modified its rules and allowed USA Basketball to field teams with National Basketball Association players . The first such team , known as the Dream Team , won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona , being superior in all matches . With the introduction of NBA players , the team was able to spark a second run of dominance in the 1990s . Facing increased competition , the U.S. failed to win a medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship , finishing sixth . The 2004 Olympic team , being depleted by a number of withdrawals , lost three games on its way to a bronze medal , a record that represented more losses in a single year than the country 's Olympic teams had suffered in all previous Olympiads combined . Determined to put an end to these failures , USA Basketball initiated a long-term project aimed at creating better , more cohesive teams .
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver . The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) as a member of the league 's Western Conference Northwest Division . The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association ( ABA ) , but changed its name to Rockets before the first season . It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974 . After the name change , the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976 , losing to the New York Nets . The team has had some periods of success , qualifying for the ABA Playoffs for all seasons from 1967 to the 1976 ABA playoffs where it lost in the finals . The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA-NBA merger and qualified for the NBA playoffs in nine consecutive seasons in the 1980s and ten consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2013 . However , it has not made an appearance in a championship round since its last year in the ABA ; as such , they are also the only of the four surviving former ABA teams to have never reached the NBA Finals . The Nuggets play their home games at Pepsi Center , which they share with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League ( NLL ) .
The 1978 NBA draft was the 32nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . The draft was held on June 9 , 1978 , before the 1978-79 season . In this draft , 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players , including international players . The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference , with the order determined by a coin flip . The Indiana Pacers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick , while the Kansas City Kings , who obtained the New Jersey Nets ' first-round pick in a trade , were awarded the second pick . The Pacers then traded the first pick to the Portland Trail Blazers before the draft . The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win-loss record in the previous season . A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection . If a player left college early , he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated . Before the draft , five college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the hardship rule . These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league , which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier . Prior to the start of the season , the Buffalo Braves relocated to San Diego and became the San Diego Clippers .
William Burton Bill Roy ( born 4 December 1958 in Versailles , Illinois ) is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and former U.S. Olympian in skeet shooting .
Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity where participants , using shotguns , attempt to break clay targets mechanically flung into the air from two fixed stations at high speed from a variety of angles . Skeet is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting . The others are trap shooting and sporting clays . There are several types of skeet , including one with Olympic status ( often called Olympic skeet or international skeet ) and many with only national recognition .
The Boeing 747 is an American wide-body , long-range , commercial jet airliner and cargo aircraft . The first wide-body airplane produced , it was the first plane dubbed a Jumbo Jet . Its distinctive hump upper deck along the forward part of the aircraft has made it one of the most recognizable aircraft . Manufactured by Boeing 's Commercial Airplane unit in the United States , the 747 was originally planned to have 150 percent greater capacity than the Boeing 707 , a common large commercial aircraft of the 1960s . First flown commercially in 1970 , the 747 held the passenger capacity record for 37 years . The 747 uses a double-deck configuration for part of its length and is available in passenger , freighter , and other versions . Boeing designed the 747 's hump-like upper deck to serve as a first-class lounge or extra seating , and to allow the aircraft to be easily converted to a cargo carrier by removing seats and installing a front cargo door . Boeing expected supersonic airliners - the development of which was announced in the early 1960s - to render the 747 and other subsonic airliners obsolete , while the demand for subsonic cargo aircraft would remain robust well into the future . Though the 747 was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold , production passed 1,000 in 1993 . By June 2019 , 1,554 aircraft had been built , with 20 of the 747-8 variants remaining on order . As of January 2017 [ update ] , 60 of the jets have been lost in accidents in which a total of 3,722 people died . The 747-400 , the most common variant in service , has a high-subsonic cruise speed of Mach 0.85-0.855 ( up to 570 mph or 920 km/h ) with an intercontinental range of 7,260 nautical miles ( 8,350 statute miles or 13,450 km ) .
United Airlines , Inc. is a major American airline headquartered at Willis Tower in Chicago , Illinois . It is the third largest airline in the world , measured by fleet size and route network [ citation needed ] . United operates a large domestic and international route network , with an extensive presence in the Asia-Pacific region . It is a founding member of the Star Alliance , the world 's largest airline alliance with a total of 28 member airlines . Regional service is operated by independent carriers under the brand name United Express . United was established by the amalgamation of several airlines in the late 1920s , the oldest of these being Varney Air Lines , which was founded in 1926 . United has eight hubs , with Chicago-O'Hare being its largest in terms of passengers carried and the number of departures .
Alonzo C. Babers ( born October 31 , 1961 ) is an American former athlete , winner of two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics , in the 400 m and the 4 × 400 m relay . Born in Montgomery , Alabama , Alonzo Babers was a military dependent who graduated from Kaiserslautern American High School in then-West Germany . He attended the United States Air Force Academy from 1979 to 1983 , graduating with a major in aerospace engineering , where he ran track and played one season of football . The international athletics career of Alonzo Babers consisted of a spectacular rise to fame , followed by a decisive and abrupt end . Up to the end of 1982 , Babers 's best time in 400 m was 45.9 , but he rapidly improved on that during 1983 , running a best time of 45.07 , but at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki he finished in a disappointing sixth place in the 4 × 400 m relay . Babers continued his rapid improvement in 1984 . At the USA Final Olympic Trials in Los Angeles , he won his semi-final in a personal best of 44.95 . Later , in the final , he ran another personal best of 44.86 to qualify to the Olympic team . At the Los Angeles Olympic Games he further lowered his personal best to 44.75 when he won his quarter-final . In the Olympic final , Babers run 44.27 to win the gold medal . In the 4 × 400 m relay , United States ( Babers ran the third leg ) won the gold medal easily in 2:57.91 . While training for and competing in the 1984 Olympics , Babers held the rank of Lieutenant in the United States Air Force .
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field . Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture . Since the eighteenth century , gold medals have been awarded in the arts , for example , by the Royal Danish Academy , usually as a symbol of an award to give an outstanding student some financial freedom . Others offer only the prestige of the award . Many organizations now award gold medals either annually or extraordinarily , including UNESCO and various academic societies . While some gold medals are solid gold , others are gold-plated or silver-gilt , like those of the Olympic Games , the Lorentz Medal , the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize medal . Nobel Prize medals consist of 18 karat green gold plated with 24 karat gold . Before 1980 they were struck in 23 karat gold .
The 1984 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event that was held from July 28 to August 12 , 1984 , in Los Angeles , California , United States ( and other venues around the United States ) . This was the second time that Los Angeles had hosted the Games , the first being in 1932 . California was the home state of then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan , who officially opened the Games . The logo for the 1984 Games , branded Stars in Motion , featured red , white and blue stars arranged horizontally and struck through with alternating streaks . The official mascot of the Games was Sam the Olympic Eagle . These were the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch . The 1984 Games were boycotted by a total of fourteen Eastern Bloc countries , including the Soviet Union and East Germany , in response to the American-led boycott of the previous 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan ; Romania was the only Eastern Bloc nation that opted to attend the Games . Iran and Libya also chose to boycott the Games for unrelated reasons . Despite the field being depleted in certain sports due to the boycott , 140 National Olympic Committees took part , which was a record at the time . The United States won the most gold and overall medals , followed by Romania and West Germany . The 1984 Summer Olympics are widely considered to be the most financially successful modern Olympics and served as an example of how to run the model Olympic Games . As a result of low construction costs , coupled with a reliance on private corporate funding , the 1984 Olympic Games generated a profit of more than $ 250 million .
The Boeing 777 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes , commonly referred to as the Triple Seven . The 777 was designed to bridge the gap between Boeing 's 767 and 747 , and to replace older DC-10s or L-1011s . Developed in consultation with eight major airlines , with a first meeting in January 1990 , the program was launched on October 14 , 1990 with a first order from United Airlines . The prototype was rolled out on April 9 , 1994 , and first flew on June 12 , 1994 . The 777 first entered commercial service with United Airlines on June 7 , 1995 . Longer range variants were launched on February 29 , 2000 and were first delivered on April 29 , 2004 . It is the largest twinjet and has a typical 3-class capacity of 301 to 368 passengers , with a range of 5,240 to 8,555 nautical miles ( 9,704 to 15,844 km ) . It is recognizable for its large-diameter turbofan engines , six wheels on each main landing gear , fully circular fuselage cross-section , and a blade-shaped tail cone . It has fly-by-wire controls , a first for Boeing . It competed initially with the out-of-production Airbus A340 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11 , with the Airbus A330-300 and the newer Airbus A350 XWB . The original 777 with a maximum takeoff weight ( MTOW ) of 545,000-660,000 lb ( 247-299 t ) was produced in two fuselage lengths : the initial -200 was followed by the extended-range 777-200ER in 1997 ; and the 33.25 ft ( 10.13 m ) longer 777-300 in 1998 . Those 777 Classics were powered with 77,200-98,000 lbf ( 343-436 kN ) General Electric GE90 , Pratt & Whitney PW4000 , or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines .
Kathleen Alice Callaghan ( born March 24 , 1962 ) is an American former handball player . She was a member of the United States women 's national handball team that played in the Women 's tournament at the 1988 Summer Olympics . She coached the women 's USAFA Team Handball team and won the 1988 College Nationals title .
Final results for the Handball competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics .
The Men 's Handball Tournament at the 1987 Pan American Games was held from August 9 to August 17 , 1987 in Indianapolis , United States . The sport made its debut at the Pan Am Games . The women competed from August 10 to August 16 .
USAF Team Handball is a handball club from Air Force Academy , Colorado , United States . They are the handball team of the United States Air Force Academy . They are one of the most successful men 's college teams . Besides the Adelphi University and UCLA they are the only college team which has won an adult national title in 1978 .
Carl Mathew Theodore Ted Sundquist II ( born May 1 , 1962 ) is an American football player , manager and commentator . He spent sixteen years working in the National Football League for the Denver Broncos franchise . Sundquist was hired in 1992 as the Player Personnel Assistant , and two years later promoted to Director of College Scouting . In 2001 , Pat Bowlen promoted Sundquist to General Manager .
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver , Colorado . The Broncos compete as a member club of the National Football League ( NFL ) 's American Football Conference ( AFC ) West division . The team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League ( AFL ) and joined the NFL as part of the merger in 1970 . The Broncos are owned by the Pat Bowlen trust and currently play home games at Empower Field at Mile High ( formerly known as Invesco Field at Mile High from 2001-2010 , Sports Authority Field at Mile High from 2011-2017 , and Broncos Stadium at Mile High from 2018-2019 ) . Prior to that , they played at Mile High Stadium from 1960 to 2000 . The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and their first seven years in the NFL . They did not have a winning season until 1973 . In 1977 , four years later , they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and advanced to Super Bowl XII . Since 1975 , the Broncos have become one of the NFL 's most successful teams , having suffered only seven losing seasons . They have won eight AFC Championships ( 1977 , 1986 , 1987 , 1989 , 1997 , 1998 , 2013 , 2015 ) , and three Super Bowl championships ( 1997 ( XXXII ) , 1998 ( XXXIII ) , 2015 ( 50 ) ) , and share the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses ( 5 - tied with the New England Patriots ) . Thirteen players who have played for Denver are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame : John Elway , Floyd Little , Shannon Sharpe , Gary Zimmerman , Willie Brown , Tony Dorsett , Jerry Rice , Andre Reed , Terrell Davis , Brian Dawkins , Ty Law , Champ Bailey and Steve Atwater , along with late club owner Pat Bowlen .
Chad William Hennings ( born October 20 , 1965 ) is a former American football defensive tackle for the Air Force Academy Falcons and Dallas Cowboys . He won the Outland Trophy in his senior year of college in 1987 . Despite facing an obligation to enter the Air Force upon graduating the Academy , Hennings was selected in the eleventh round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Cowboys , and played in the National Football League from 1992 to 2000 , winning three Super Bowls .
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat , twin turbofan engine , straight wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force ( USAF ) . It is commonly referred to by the nicknames Warthog or Hog , although the A-10 's official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt , a World War II fighter-bomber effective at attacking ground targets . The A-10 was designed for close air support ( CAS ) of friendly ground troops , attacking armored vehicles and tanks , and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces . It entered service in 1976 and is the only production-built aircraft that has served in the USAF that was designed solely for CAS . Its secondary mission is to provide forward air controller - airborne support , by directing other aircraft in attacks on ground targets . Aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10 . The A-10 was intended to improve on the performance of the A-1 Skyraider and its lesser firepower . The A-10 was designed around the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon . Its airframe was designed for durability , with measures such as 1,200 pounds ( 540 kg ) of titanium armor to protect the cockpit and aircraft systems , enabling it to absorb a significant amount of damage and continue flying . Its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines , and its simple design enables maintenance with minimal facilities . The A-10 served in the Gulf War ( Operation Desert Storm ) , the American led intervention against Iraq 's invasion of Kuwait , where the A-10 distinguished itself . The A-10 also participated in other conflicts such as in Grenada , the Balkans , Afghanistan , Iraq , and against Islamic State in the Middle East .
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America . It is named after John H. Outland . One of only a few players ever to be named an All-American at two positions , Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in 1898 as a tackle and consensus honors as a halfback in 1899 . Outland had always contended that football tackles and guards deserved greater recognition and conceived the Outland Trophy as a means of providing this recognition . In 1988 , Jim Ridlon was commissioned to design and sculpt the Outland Trophy . A member of the National College Football Awards Association , the award has become one of college football 's most prestigious .
The National Football League ( NFL ) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams , divided equally between the National Football Conference ( NFC ) and the American Football Conference ( AFC ) . The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America and the highest professional level of American football in the world . The NFL 's 17-week regular season runs from early September to late December , with each team playing 16 games and having one bye week . Following the conclusion of the regular season , six teams from each conference ( four division winners and two wild card teams ) advance to the playoffs , a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl , which is usually held on the first Sunday in February and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC . The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association ( APFA ) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season . After initially determining champions through end-of-season standings , a playoff system was implemented in 1933 that culminated with the NFL Championship Game until 1966 . Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the American Football League ( AFL ) , the Super Bowl was first held in 1967 to determine a champion between the best teams from the two leagues and has remained as the final game of each NFL season since the merger was completed in 1970 . Today , the NFL has the highest average attendance ( 67,591 ) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States . The Super Bowl is also among the biggest club sporting events in the world , with the individual games accounting for many of the most watched television programs in American history and all occupying the Nielsen 's Top 5 tally of the all-time most watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015 . The Green Bay Packers hold the most combined NFL championships with 13 , winning nine titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls afterwards . Since the creation of the Super Bowl , the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots both have the most championship titles at six .
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex . The Cowboys compete in the National Football League ( NFL ) as a member club of the league 's National Football Conference ( NFC ) East division . The team is headquartered in Frisco , Texas , and plays its home games at AT & T Stadium in Arlington , Texas , which opened for the 2009 season . The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season . The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960 . The team 's national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs . The Cowboys ' streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games ( home and away ) began in 2002 . The franchise has made it to the Super Bowl eight times , tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos for second most Super Bowl appearances in history , just behind the New England Patriots record eleven Super Bowl appearances . This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships , most in the NFC . The Cowboys have won five of those Super Bowl appearances , tying them with their NFC rivals , the San Francisco 49ers ; both are second to Pittsburgh 's and New England 's record six Super Bowl championships . The Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons ( 1966-85 ) , in which they missed the playoffs only twice ( 1974 and 1984 ) . In 2015 , the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $ 4 billion , making it the most valuable sports team in the world , according to Forbes .
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League ( NFL ) played between mid-January and early February . It is the culmination of a regular season that begins in the late summer of the previous year . The game was created as part of the merger agreement between the NFL and its rival the American Football League ( AFL ) . It was agreed that the two champion teams would begin playing in an annual AFL-NFL World Championship Game until the merger officially began in 1970 . The first game was played on January 15 , 1967 after both leagues had completed their respective 1966 seasons . After the merger , each league was re-designated as a conference , and the game has since been played between the conference champions to determine the NFL 's league champion . The NFL restricts the use of its Super Bowl trademark , and it is frequently referred to as the big game or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations . The New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl championship titles with six each . The Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances with 11 . The National Football Conference ( NFC ) and the American Football Conference ( AFC ) are tied with 27 Super Bowl wins each . The Super Bowl is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption , after Thanksgiving Day . In addition , the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year ; the seven most-watched broadcasts in American television history are Super Bowls .
Original plans in 1967 called for the Hall of Fame to be located at Rutgers University in New Brunswick , New Jersey , the location of the first contest under rules now considered to be those of modern football , between teams from Rutgers and the College of New Jersey , now Princeton University ; Rutgers won 6-4 . Rutgers donated land near its football stadium , office space , and administrative support . After years of collecting donations for the construction of the building with ground not having been broken and no plans to do so , the New Jersey Attorney General began an investigation of the finances of the Hall of Fame 's foundation , the National Football Foundation . In response , the Foundation moved its operations to New York City , where it continued to collect donations for several years .
Nathan Troy Calhoun ( born September 26 , 1966 ) is an American football coach and former player . He is the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy , a position he has held since the 2007 season .
The Air Force Falcons football program represents the United States Air Force Academy in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( formerly Division I-A ) level . Air Force has been a member of the Mountain West Conference since its founding in 1999 . The Falcons play their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs , Colorado . Troy Calhoun has been the team 's head coach since 2007 . The three major service academies - Air Force , Army , and Navy - compete for the Commander-in-Chief 's Trophy , which is awarded to the academy that defeats the others in football that year ( or retained by the previous winner in the event of a three-way tie ) .
American football , referred to as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron , [ nb 1 ] is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end . The offense , the team with possession of the oval-shaped football , attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it , while the defense , the team without possession of the ball , aims to stop the offense 's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves . The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays ; if they fail , they turn over the football to the defense , but if they succeed , they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive . Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team 's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent 's goalposts for a field goal . The team with the most points at the end of a game wins . American football evolved in the United States , originating from the sports of soccer and rugby . The first American football match was played on November 6 , 1869 , between two college teams , Rutgers and Princeton , using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time . A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp , the Father of American Football , established the snap , the line of scrimmage , eleven-player teams , and the concept of downs . Later rule changes legalized the forward pass , created the neutral zone and specified the size and shape of the football . The sport is closely related to Canadian football , which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game ( although their rules were developed independently from that of Camp 's ) . Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football . The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football .
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston , Texas . The Texans compete in the National Football League ( NFL ) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( AFC ) South division . The team plays its home games at NRG Stadium . The club first played in 2002 as an expansion team , making them the youngest franchise currently competing in the NFL . The Texans replaced the city 's previous NFL franchise , the Houston Oilers who played from 1960 to 1996 , which moved to Nashville and are now known as the Tennessee Titans . The team was founded and owned by Bob McNair from 1999 until his death in 2018 . Following McNair 's death , the majority ownership of the team went to his wife , Janice McNair . While the team mainly struggled in their first decade of play , they found success in the 2011 season , winning their first division championship and clinching their first playoff berth . The Texans have gone on to win five more AFC South championships in 2012 , 2015 , 2016 , 2018 and 2019 . As of the 2019 season , they are the only franchise to have never appeared in a conference championship game .
Michael Dee Dowis ( August 2 , 1968 - August 29 , 2016 ) was an American college football quarterback for the United States Air Force Academy . He graduated as the NCAA 's All-time leading rusher for a quarterback .
Bryce Alexander Fisher ( born May 12 , 1977 ) is a former American football defensive lineman . He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 7th round of the 1999 NFL Draft . He played college football at Air Force .
Onyenma Daniel Nwaelele ( born March 5 , 1984 ) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Paris-Levallois of the French LNB Pro A . He played college basketball for the Air Force Falcons .
The NBA G League , or simply the G League , is the National Basketball Association 's ( NBA ) official minor league basketball organization . The league was known as the National Basketball Development League ( NBDL ) from 2001 to 2005 , and the NBA Development League ( NBA D-League ) from 2005 until 2017 . The league started with eight teams until NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the NBA D-League to fifteen teams and develop it into a true minor league farm system , with each NBA D-League team affiliated with one or more NBA teams in March 2005 . At the conclusion of the 2013-14 NBA season , 33% of NBA players had spent time in the NBA D-League , up from 23% in 2011 . As of the 2019-20 season , the league consists of 28 teams , all of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team . In the 2017-18 season , Gatorade became the title sponsor of the D-League , and it was renamed the NBA G League .
Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret . The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A , the highest-tier level in French basketball . Founded in 2007 , as Paris-Levallois Basket , the club has been based in the Paris metropolitan area . The home arena of the club is Palais des sports Marcel Cerdan , which has a seating capacity of 4,000 people . Levallois has won two titles thus far , as it won the French Cup in 2013 , and the Match des Champions ( French Supercup ) in 2013 .
The LNB Pro A , commonly known as Pro A and for sponsorship reasons named the Jeep Élite , is the top-tier men 's professional basketball league in France . The competition has existed since 1921 . Since 1987 , the Ligue Nationale de Basket has organized the league . The bottom two placed teams from each season are relegated to the second tier level Pro B . The winner of the play-offs of the Pro A is crowned the French national champion .
Chandler Chad Hall ( born May 23 , 1986 ) is an American football coach and former player . He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an unrestricted free agent in 2010 after going undrafted in 2008 . He played college football at Air Force . Hall has also played for the San Francisco 49ers , Kansas City Chiefs , and Jacksonville Jaguars . He is currently a wide receivers coach for the Buffalo Bills . Hall is the brother of Kelly Hall Stafford , married to Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford .
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia . The Eagles compete in the National Football League ( NFL ) as a member club of the league 's National Football Conference ( NFC ) East division . In the 2017 season the team won Super Bowl LII , their first Super Bowl win in franchise history and their fourth NFL title overall , after winning the Championship Game in 1948 , 1949 , and 1960 . The franchise was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets , when a group led by Bert Bell secured the rights to an NFL franchise in Philadelphia . Bell , Chuck Bednarik , Bob Brown , Brian Dawkins , Reggie White , Steve Van Buren , Tommy McDonald , Greasy Neale , Pete Pihos , Harold Carmichael , Sonny Jurgensen , and Norm Van Brocklin have been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame . The team has had an intense rivalry with the New York Giants . This rivalry is the oldest in the NFC East and is among the oldest in the NFL . It was ranked by NFL Network as the number one rivalry of all-time , Sports Illustrated ranks it as the fourth-best rivalry in the NFL , and according to ESPN , it is one of the fiercest and most well-known rivalries in the American football community . They also have a bitter rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys , which has become more high-profile since the 1960s , as well as a historic rivalry with the Washington Redskins . Their rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers is another bitter rivalry known as the battle of Pennsylvania , roughly dating back to 1933 . It mostly arises from the two teams ' statuses as being from opposite ends of the same state . The team consistently ranks among the best in the league in attendance and has sold out every game since the 1999 season .
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area . They compete in the National Football League ( NFL ) as a member of the league 's National Football Conference ( NFC ) West division . The team currently plays its home games at Levi 's Stadium in Santa Clara , California , located 38 miles ( 61 km ) southeast of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley . Since 1988 , the 49ers have been headquartered in Santa Clara . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference ( AAFC ) and joined the NFL in 1949 when the leagues merged . The 49ers were the first major league professional sports franchise based in San Francisco . The name 49ers comes from the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush . The team is legally and corporately registered as San Francisco Forty Niners . The team began play at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco before moving across town to Candlestick Park in 1970 and then to Levi 's Stadium in Santa Clara in 2014 . The 49ers won five Super Bowl championships between 1981 and 1994 , led by Hall of Famers Joe Montana , Jerry Rice , Ronnie Lott , Steve Young , and coaches Bill Walsh and George Seifert . They have been division champions 20 times between 1970 and 2019 , making them one of the most successful teams in NFL history . The 49ers have been in the league playoffs 27 times : 26 times in the NFL and one time in the AAFC .
Benjamin N. Garland ( born April 6 , 1988 ) is an American football center for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at the United States Air Force Academy and attended Central High School in Grand Junction , Colorado . He has also been a member of the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons . Garland was originally a defensive lineman before converting to an offensive lineman in 2012 .
Tom Whitney ( born May 16 , 1989 ) is an American professional golfer .
Jim Walmsley ( born January 17 , 1990 ) is an American long-distance runner . An ultra-trail specialist , he won the JFK 50 Mile in 2014 , 2015 and 2016 , the Lake Sonoma 50 in 2016 and 2018 and the Tarawera Ultramarathon in 2017 . He holds several course records and fastest known times , including the Western States 100 , set in 2018 and further improved by 21 minutes in 2019 . He was named UltraRunner of the Year for 2016 , 2017 , and 2018 . In addition , he qualified for the 2020 Olympic trials in the marathon with his 2019 performance at the Houston half-marathon . While competing in the Hoka One One Project Carbon X 100K Challenge on May 5 , 2019 he set a new unofficial world best for the 50 mile distance ( which is not an IAU recognized world best distance ) , completing it in 4:50:07 ( besting Bruce Fordyce 's previous 36-year old record by 14 seconds ) . Walmsley won the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in 2019 .
An ultramarathon , also called ultra distance or ultra running , is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres ( 26.219 mi ) .