Air Force Moves Up Its Football Opener

The Air Force Academy football opener against Texas El Paso, originally scheduled for Sept. 7, has been moved up to Aug. 31, Labor Day weekend, the academy announced.

“UTEP requested the change in order to play Southern Methodist University on Sept. 7. I felt that, if possible, we should accommodate a Western Athletic Conference school with this schedule change,” said Col. John Clune, the academy’s athletic director.

“It will also work well for the academy because Aug. 31 (a Saturday) is parents’ weekend at the academy, as well as Labor Day weekend, and we hope to have a large crowd in Falcon Stadium for our opener.”

“It will also give us two weeks to get ready for our game Sept. 14 against Wyoming in Laramie. Coach (Fisher) DeBerry has indicated to me that a team makes the most progress between the first and second games of the year and the open date hopefully will be another advantage for the Falcons.”