Air Force head coach Frank Serratore has announced that the upcoming 2026-27 season will be his final year.

For the 2027-28 season, current associate head coach Joe Doyle will take over as head coach for the Falcons.

“Coach Frank Serratore has left an indelible mark on Air Force Hockey and the national hockey community as well,” said Air Force interim director of athletics Dr. Nancy Hixson. “His leadership, passion, and commitment to developing not only great hockey players but leaders of character for the Air and Space Force have been the cornerstone of his legacy since the day he arrived here in the summer of 1997. Frank has taken three teams to the Elite Eight during his tenure and built a world class program on and off the ice over these past 29 years. 

“We congratulate Frank on an extraordinary coaching career and look forward to celebrating him throughout his final season with the Falcons.  While we are excited for Frank to begin this new chapter of his life, it is extremely exciting to know that we have an experienced and well-respected leader like Joe Doyle who will continue to build upon the great program Frank has established.”

Entering his 30^th season at Air Force, Serratore has a record of 490-472-106 with the Falcons. In 33 seasons as a college head coach, he has a 539-564-115 record. His 539 career NCAA Division I wins (490 at Air Force and 49 at Denver) are the second most among all active NCAA coaches and the 14^th most in NCAA hockey history.  His 490 wins at Air Force are a school record.

“Most professional coaches are nomadic contractors endlessly wandering the hockey highway from job to job, I was on this track until I came to Colorado Springs,” Serratore said. “I am deeply indebted to the Air Force Academy, this job has provided me with a home, an identity, and a legacy. After 29 years at the helm, my name is synonymous with Air Force hockey, it defines me, it’s who and what I am, and I’m enormously proud of this.”

In 2025-26, Serratore led the Falcons to an 18-15-4 record, the first winning season since 2018-19. The 18 wins tie (2023-24) as the most since 2017-18. Air Force went 8-4-2 in the final 14 games of the season and earned 11 road wins, the most since the 2017-18 season.

“People want to talk about all I have given to the academy, but the truth is, I have received way more from my time here than I have given, and it’s not close,” Serratore said. “Both God and Carol know I’m still a work in progress, but I’m a much better coach, father, husband, and person because of this place. I may have played a part in teaching the hockey program how to win on the ice, but the academy community, and the quality of people I was blessed to interact with every day, taught me how to win in life.”

Serratore is the second longest tenured coach at his current institution (Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold is in his 33rd season). Serratore earned his 500th career win at Army, Jan. 20, 2024. He became just the 16th coach in the history of NCAA Division I hockey to reach 500 Division I wins. Serratore’s 1,218 career games coached are the 10th most in NCAA history.

“I’ve been doing this for a very long time, 34 years at the collegiate level alone,” Serratore said. “I’ve asked various coaches over the years who’ve retired on their own terms how they knew when it was time. Every one of them looked at me and simply said. ‘You’ll know when it’s time.’ This was always a bit perplexing to me because I asked the question looking for reasons. Now it’s my turn and I finally understand, it’s not about a list of reasons, it’s about a strong gut feeling, and my gut tells me it’s time.”

Serratore has led the Falcons to seven Atlantic Hockey tournament championships, seven NCAA appearances, three NCAA Elite Eights and two AHA regular-season titles. The 2016 AHA Coach of the Year, he has led the Falcons to the AHA championship game eight times in the last 20 seasons in Atlantic Hockey.

“From a business standpoint, I want to thank our senior staff for their foresight in recognizing Joe’s talents and the importance of naming him as our head coach in waiting,” Serratore said. “The decision to proceed in this manner creates a seamless transition, ensures continuity and best protects the program from the volatility of the current collegiate landscape.”

A 1989 Academy graduate, Doyle enters his 22^nd overall season at the Air Force Academy and his eighth as associate head coach. Doyle served as an assistant coach with the Falcons from 1994-98, from 2002-06 and from 2013-19. He was named associate head coach prior to the 2019-20 season. Doyle plays an integral part in Air Force’s nation-wide recruiting efforts along with working with the Falcon defensemen.

Doyle’s knowledge of the academy and his passion for both the Air Force and the sport of hockey have been instrumental to the Falcons’ success. Many of his recruits have gone on to great Air Force careers. In August 2024, Doyle was an assistant coach for Team USA and helped lead the team to a gold medal at the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Piešťany, Slovakia.

“I have been here on Frank’s staff for 20 of his 30 years and I’ve watched him take Air Force hockey from the bottom of the standings to seven NCAA Tournaments and three Elite Eights,” Doyle said. “That kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident, and most people never imagined it could happen at a service academy. Frank believed it could! Building and sustaining that type of culture also takes a singular kind of will, and Frank has it in a way I’ve never seen matched. What he has built here is a legacy that can’t be measured in wins and losses. His real legacy is the men who went on to serve this country and the coaches he developed along the way, and I am proud to be one of them. He is my mentor and one of my closest friends and I am honored that when it is time, I get to carry it forward.”

A four-year letterman for the Falcons at right wing, Doyle is a member of the academy’s Hockey Wall of Fame. During his junior and senior years, he was selected as the team’s most valuable player and was a part of the first class in AFA history to post four consecutive winning seasons. He played in 110 career games and posted 126 points on 57 goals and 69 assists. He stands 23rd in career points and 15th in career goals at the academy.

In 2009, Doyle retired from the Air Force after serving 20 years on active duty and earning numerous awards.

“As an alum, I was fortunate to play here under Chuck Delich and Jordy Bowman and was part of the first ever class at AFA to post four winning seasons,” Doyle said. “The alumni community doesn’t just respect Frank Serratore, they claim him as one of us. He’s not just the coach of Air Force hockey but rather has become part of the fabric of the entire Air Force Academy. He is a Falcon through and through and all the people who wore this jersey before and after me feel that. My wife Holly and I have raised our four kids here and feel fortunate that was the case. The Air Force Academy and Colorado Springs are home to us. To now be given the opportunity to lead this program is the honor of my career. I do not take it lightly. And there is no greater privilege than carrying forward what was forged by the coaches before me and built on the backs of every player who wore this jersey. Go Falcons!”

“Officially being the head coach will not be foreign to Joe as I’ve had him in the head coach role for quite some time,” Serratore added. “I’ve enjoyed watching him grow and take immense pride in seeing all he’s become. In all sincerity, Joe’s developed into the best hockey coach I’ve ever worked with, the future of Air Force hockey is in great hands.  Joe has an infectious personality and is a tireless worker, he possesses all the attributes of a great collegiate head coach, he’s a high-end recruiter, a great teacher, and a master motivator. He’s also a very positive and upbeat person by nature, Joe has a special way of inspiring players as he teaches, our players would skate through machine gun fire for him. Joe was by my side on my first day at the Academy, and he’ll be by my side on my last day.”

Air Force opens the 2026-27 season on Friday, Oct. 2, with an exhibition game against Omaha at the Cadet Ice Arena.

— Air Force Athletics Staff

(September 30, 2026)