Air Force will play in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 27 in Shreveport, La., the school announced late Wednesday.
The invitation was part of a hectic scenario that played out Wednesday and completed the Mountain West Conference’s postseason slate except for TCU, which will be in a BCS bowl.
With the announcement earlier in the afternoon that the Las Vegas Bowl is taking 21st-ranked Utah from the MWC, Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh got the call from Missy Setters, executive director of the Independence Bowl.
“The announcement by the Las Vegas Bowl paved the way for us to do things a little earlier than expected,” Setters said.
With the invitation signed and delivered, coach Troy Calhoun and the Falcons can prepare for their fourth bowl game in four years. The Falcons’ opponent will be from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Calhoun has scheduled practices Friday and Saturday at the academy. He said his team will assemble Dec. 22 in Shreveport.
“We feel as if we’ve found a four-leaf clover,” Calhoun said. “We’re fired up to be playing in the South and in the Independence Bowl.”
Air Force last played in the Independence Bowl in 1984, defeating Virginia Tech 23-7. A year later, Calhoun was a player at Air Force.
Jim Hagan, the chairman of the Independence Bowl selection committee, acknowledged Air Force was at the top of the wish list because of the military presence in the Shreveport area.
“We’re elated it worked out this way,” Hagan said.
An announcement Wednesday from the BCS releasing Utah as a possible BCS bowl team allowed the Las Vegas Bowl to take action.
With the Las Vegas Bowl and Independence Bowl filled, it leaves San Diego State for the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, and BYU announced it had accepted a bid to play in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
