USAFA Day 1: Chapel & Athletics

We started our "official" tour of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) today. They drove us throughout the base a little bit before we went to the admissions office and had an overview presentation by a few new Lieutenant's who graduated from the USAFA last May. The Colonel who is in charge of the entire admissions process also talked with us briefly and answered some questions. The "official" admissions briefing is on Wednesday - this was basically just his opening welcome.

We next went to the Chapel. (And, let me forewarn you, this is just the start of the pictures!) The Chapel is one of the most well known structures at the USAFA. You can see it from afar and it is a central point on campus.

Me with the back of the chapel.

This is a view walking into the chapel.

I know that this may not seem as impressive or exciting to see small on this blog, but one of the things I really liked was the view out the windows from inside of the chapel - out one side of the chapel you see mountains in the background and out the other side you see the campus and the planes in the middle of campus. Pretty cool.

The chapel is actually more than just 1 chapel. There are six separate chapels within this one facility. The largest one is the Protestant chapel which is pictured above. In each of the two floors below that there are 3 more chapels - we were able to see the Catholic, Jewish, and Buddist. (Pictured Below)

Later in the day we had the opportunity to visit the athletic facilities. They were very impressive - remember, this is a Division 1 school. Approximately 23% of all of the Cadets at the USAFA participate in intercollegiate athletics. They have 27 D-1 Sports here. Everyone is required to participate in athletics in some way - it can be through club or intramural sports.

You probably can't read it very well, but this sign has their athletics motto - "Air Force Athletics... Tomorrow's Leaders Forged Through Competition Today"

The three pictures above include: An indoor track and field with an impressive mural, some of the outdoor courts, and (of course) the training room.

And, in case you had any question about the facilities and how well they compare with other D-1 Schools... check out their weight room below. WOW!