2021 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Features Two of the Nation’s Top Teams Since the Mid-1980s

Fans don’t have to look very far to see two of the nation’s top college football programs over the last four-plus decades.

SERVPRO First Responder foes Air Force and Louisville have developed into year-in, year-out powers thanks to reputation, facilities, educational values, and recruiting to winning teams.

Air Force, for example, has competed in 25 bowl games over the last 40 seasons behind stellar head coaches Ken Hatfield, Fisher DeBerry and Troy Calhoun (11 in his 15 seasons with a possible 12th bid nullified by a COVID-19-affected season in 2020 when the Falcons played just six games).

By the same token, the Cardinals in 1985 hired former Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes national championship head coach Howard Schnellenberger who guided the team to a first-ever traditional New Year’s Day bowl appearance after the 1989 campaign and a 34-7 romp over Alabama.

For both schools the 1990s-2020s have been both eventful and successful with Heisman Trophy recipients (Louisville’s Lamar Jackson in 2015), several Top 25 national finishes (AFA was a school-record fifth in the 1985 United Press International postseason survey; UL has been close to becoming a College Football Playoff Power Five “breaker” prior to joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014).

The Falcons and Cardinals, one of which will exceed the .500 mark in postseason activity by the winning squad – Air Force is 13-13-1 and Louisville in 11-11-1 – also have been in the thick of their respective conference races for several years.

Louisville dominated Conference USA from 2000-04 with three conference crowns while the Falcons topped the Western Athletic Conference three times from 1985-98 under DeBerry.

AFA also has been a steady contender for the prestigious Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy among the three service academies – Army West Point and Navy competing in the same rivalry – with 20 outright and one shared CIC kudos since the tradition was established in 1972.

The fact that both schools have competed in the vast majority of their bowl tussles (25 of the school’s 28 postseason clashes since 1982 for the Falcons and 21 of the 24 bowls for the Cardinals since 1990) gives further credence that these two programs have been rising and continuing to rise with major commitments from their administrations and fan bases.

The principal student-athletes in these ascensions are a veritable Who’s Who of college football standouts as well.

National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame defender Chad Hennings (1984-87) of Air Force was the ’87 Outland Trophy winner. QB Dee Dowis was a finalist for the 1989 Heisman Trophy. Dallas-Fort Worth locals and AFA quarterbacks Beau and Blane Morgan of Carrollton, Texas, and Addison’s Trinity Christian Academy were two of the top option signal callers in NCAA FBS history. LB Anthony Schlegel (2001-04) was mentioned as Freshman All-America and regarded as one of the Falcons all-time defensemen.

Louisville’s Jackson, QB Chris Redman (1999 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award), LB Elvis Dumervil (2005 Ted Hendricks and FWAA Bronko Nagurski Awards), kicker Art Carmody (2006 Lou Groza National Place-Kicker Award), and safety Gerod Holliman (2014 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award) are just a few the Cardinals whose names are etched throughout UL trophy cases.

It remains for the stars of the 2021 squads to follow in these standouts’ footsteps and to carry on the traditions of the last 40-plus seasons for both schools in the annual SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

For tickets and related game activities, please access Firstresponderbowl.com.

-Firstresponderbowl.com-