Air Force removes athletic director Nathan Pine, naming Air Force Athletic Corporation CEO Nancy Hixson as his interim replacement.

The move comes at the “urging” of outgoing Air Force Academy superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind, as ESPN’s Pete Thamel posted Thursday on X. Pine will be paid through the remainder of his contract, which runs through 2028.

The academy confirms the news Friday afternoon with a joint statement.

“On Friday, June 26, 2026, the Department of the Air Force informed the Air Force Academy Athletic Corporation that the service of Nathan Pine as the Director of Athletics at the Academy was no longer accepted,” according to the statement. “Given this directive and to ensure mission continuity, the AFAAC Board of Directors has appointed AFAAC CEO Dr. Nancy Hixson to provide these services on an interim basis. At this time, Mr. Pine remains under contract as an employee of the AFAAC.”

Pine has held the post atop Falcons athletics since January 2019.

Under his watch, the academy constructed the Kucera Legacy Center, the enclosed seating and conference area on the east side of Falcon Stadium.

The football team averaged 10 wins across four full seasons (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) during Pine’s tenure from 2019 to 2023, beating four teams from power conferences during that stretch.

The team has most recently posted back-to-back sub-. 500 seasons.

Tension between the athletic department and Bauernfeind has been an underlying theme throughout the superintendent’s two-year tenure, as sources tell The Gazette of friction involving coaches’ complaints about limited player access, tight recruiting budgets and complicated staff hire approvals.

In May, Bauernfeind altered wording on the stadium’s mezzanine. The names of air battles were pushed to the side, replaced in the center by what Bauernfeind identified as the academy’s priorities: “Warfighters,” “Leaders” and “Critical Thinking.”

Pine notes to The Gazette that the athletic department was not part of the project and had not been notified. Pine raises worries that the change in signage might violate an agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office, though an academy spokesperson notes that the agreement involved only the color, size and style of the lettering, all of which remain consistent with the change.

Coaching changes Pine oversaw in his tenure include men’s basketball (twice), volleyball, men’s track and field (after the death of longtime coach Ralph Lindeman) and women’s basketball (after the retirement of longtime coach Chris Gobrecht).

Pine’s bio, which remains active on the Air Force Athletics webpage, trumpets four finishes atop the Mountain West in the Learfield Directors’ Cup and 34 athletes earning All-America honors.

The Falcons have hosted an outdoor NHL Stadium Series game and last month brought in a Professional Bull Riders event that was followed by a concert from country music star Tim McGraw.

“Air Force has also experienced record-breaking fundraising numbers each year since 2019,” Pine’s bio states, “including new highs in both total number of donors and total dollars raised.”