2022 Collegiate Program Winners Announced

IAC Collegiate Program Chair, Jordan Ashley, offers his congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Collegiate Championships. The collegiate eagle trophies will be presented to the recipients at the IAC Member Gathering in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at AirVenture on Friday, July 28, 2023. The results of the championships have been verified and are as follows:

Team Championships:

1st - Metropolitan State University of Denver, Scoring 6925.60 out of 7890 points / 87.78%
2nd - University of North Dakota, Scoring 6623.68 out of 7890 points / 83.95%
3rd - United States Air Force Academy, Scoring 10820.99 out of 12910 points / 83.82%
1st: Metropolitan State University of Denver 2nd: University of North Dakota      3rd: U.S. Air Force Academy
The spread between 2nd and 3rd is one of the closest that the Collegiate Program has had in recent history.
Jordan would also like to welcome and congratulate the Middle Georgia State University Team, who in their first year, scored 8159.95 out of 10110 points / 80.71%. In 2021, this score would have put them in 3rd place in the series. 

Individual Championships:

1st - Ryan Tierney - Metropolitan State University of Denver, scoring 10558.97 out of 12330 points / 85.64% - Last year, Ryan placed 2nd in the Individual National Standings and placed 3rd this year at the US Nationals
2nd - Palmer Timmons - University of North Dakota, scoring 8097.35 out of 9590 points / 84.44% - 2022 marks Palmer's first full year of contests with the UND Team and he took 1st place Sportsman at the US Nationals
3rd - Dylan Beal - Metropolitan State University of Denver, scoring 10348.09 out of 12330 points / 83.93% Dylan did not place in the 2021 Collegiate season.
1st: Ryan Tierney 2nd: Palmer Timmons 3rd: Dylan Beal

The collegiate competition program is intended to increase the flying safety and encourage interest in aerobatics among college-age students. It is the intent of this program to sharpen pilot skills in the categories where they can be the most rewarded in terms of pilot ability and collegiate recognition. The program is also intended to be a springboard for competitors to continue their pursuit of aerobatics upon leaving the collegiate environment.

The two awards serve to recognize skill and proficiency for the collegiate aerobatic competitor. The Collegiate National Championship Team Award recognizes the highest-scoring U.S. Collegiate Team. The Individual Collegiate National Champion Award recognizes the top three individual collegiate competitors in Sportsman or higher category. To qualify, a competitor must be a full-time undergraduate student in an accredited college or vocational program. Teams may be formed by three or more competitors from the same school, one of which must fly in the Sportsman category.

More information on the program can be found on IAC Collegiate Program webpage.