Frank Serratore, the legendary hockey coach at the United States Air Force Academy, informed his team Tuesday that the 2026-27 season will be his last behind the bench in Colorado Springs. The 69-year-old Minnesota native will finish out his 30th season at the helm of Air Force hockey before turning the reins over to Joe Doyle, a longtime assistant coach with the program.
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Serratore’s announcement comes just weeks after his younger brother Tom Serratore, head coach at Bemidji State for many years similarly announced this season would be his last.
Frank Serrartore has been a coach for almost the entirety of his adult life, first leading the Austin Mavericks in the USHL starting in 1982 not long after ending his playing career. By his second full year of coaching, he was named the USHL Coach of the Year and by his third season, Austin won the Clark Cup championship.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 💙
— Air Force Hockey (@AF_HKY) September 29, 2026
Air Force head hockey coach Frank Serratore has announced that the 2026-27 season will be his final season behind the Falcons’ bench.
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With a stint as an assistant coach at the University North Dakota mixed in the middle, Serratore won USHL titles with Austin, Rochester and Omaha before getting his first collegiate head coaching job.
Serratore spent four seasons at the University of Denver before moving on to the International Hockey League where he coached his home-state Minnesota Moose for two seasons.
In 1997, the head coach landed the last job he’d ever need. Over 29 years at Air Force, Serratore compiled more than 500 wins. His 539 victories rank 14th in NCAA men’s division I hockey history.
Additionally, Serratore led the Falcons to seven Atlantic Hockey titles and seven trips to the NCAA tournament, three times winning a round and falling one win shy of reaching the Men’s Frozen Four.
Known as one of the great talkers and entertainers of the college coaching fraternity, Serratore’s quote in his statement announcing his retirement did not disappoint:
"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. 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.
"I've been doing this for a very long time, 34 years at the collegiate level alone. 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."
Among active coaches, Serratore is only behind Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold (33 years) for most consecutive seasons with their current program.
Serratore will turn the program over to Doyle, who has been with the program for 22 years overall with stints from 1994-98, 2002-06 and 2013-present. Since 2019, Doyle has had the associate head coach title. Doyle also played for the Falcons and was the team’s MVP in his junior and senior seasons.
Serratore gave Doyle his full-throated endorsement.
"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 will begin Frank Serratore’s farewell season with an exhibition game Friday against NCHC program Nebraska Omaha. That game will stream live on FloHockey at 9:05 p.m. ET.
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