Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun Interested in Life Without Mountain West?

Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun doesn't shy away from saying what he is thinking. If a reporter ask a question, they are gonna get a straight answer, even if that answer isn't the most popular one. He has gone on record saying the new playoff system is "UnAmerican" because it only allows four teams to compete for the National Championship. This week at Mountain West Media Day, Calhoun discussed what he thought about the Conference and life with it for the Air Force Falcons.

During an interview that was shared in the Colorado Springs Gazette, Calhoun was asked about rooting for other teams in the Mountain West during the non-conference schedule.

Well, it's a university-driven league. And it's a league where, just, operations work a little bit differently. Anytime you have a conference where television revenue is not level, which is a little bit interesting, I think it's, I don't want to say baffling or shocking, that university presidents would say, "Yeah, that's the way in the 21st Century you're supposed to have a league." Or if you have the front office or commissioner or however that works. That's a little bit different. The other part, probably frankly, you do look, being able to see a bunch of teams that really live significantly in California how it's got to be quite beneficial for them to be in this league.

In true Calhoun fashion, he turned a question into an opportunity to get a point across that he does not see as fair or equitable. Calhoun was then asked to ellaborate on the California point he made and how the league was beneficial to them. Calhoun responded:

Because of where they recruit. If you were a team that spent an awful lot of your time recruiting in the Central or Eastern Time Zone, you'd think. I just know in hockey there's a reason we play in the league we do. I think it's awesome. It gives the program a chance. The kids, the families.

Calhoun was then asked if there was a better fit for Air Force somewhere else and responded with a question of his own: "What do you think". The interviewer stated that Air Force was in the perfect fit in his opinion, but knew that Calhoun did not agree. Calhoun would then go on to respond:

If you're a captain in the Air Force and you're assigned to Afghanistan, you're either going to be a conscientious objector or you're going to go. Am I right? Those are decisions that are made in other spots and you follow what those decisions are.

Calhoun was then asked the big question, did he think with the style of football they play and the athletes they recruit, could Air Force compete if they weren't attached to a conference, or the Mountain West imparticular. Calhoun responded:

That's a good question. It would be a fun one to answer, wouldn't it?

It will be interesting to see what the fallout from this interview will be for the Air Force coach. Calhoun can come off in a negative light from time to time, but he has proven that his true dedication is to the Academy from which he graduated. Calhoun is going to always put the needs of the Air Force Academy and his football team before anything else.