Sport | American football |
---|---|
Founded | 2000 |
Ceased | 2008 |
Country | United States |
Last champion(s) | H-Town Texas Cyclones (now in WFA) |
The National Women's Football Association (NWFA) was a full-contact American football league for women headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The league was founded by Catherine Masters in 2000, as the two benchmark teams, the Alabama Renegades and the Nashville Dream played each other six times in exhibition games. The opening season was in 2001 featuring ten teams. [1] The NWFA did not officially field any teams for the 2009 season.
The NWFA was originally called the National Women's Football League, but changed its name after the 2002 season. The name change came after pressure from the National Football League. [2] The NFL also required the league to change the logos of some teams whose logos resembled those of NFL teams.
League founder Catherine Masters was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. [3]
NWFA teams played according to standard National Football League rules with the following notable exceptions:
The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each have 16 teams organized into four divisions.
The Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) was the first women's American football league established by women players for women players. The league was founded in 2000, began play in 2001, and played its last season in 2018. Members of the original roster of the Austin Outlaws were the league's founders. Following the establishment of the league as a separate entity from the team, former Outlaws players Laurie Frederick, Jaime Bailey, and Sandra Plato became the original IWFL executive council.
The Oklahoma City Lightning is a full-contact women's American football team in the Women's Spring Football League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Home games are played at Taft Stadium.
The Pensacola Ice Pilots were a professional ice hockey team located in Pensacola, Florida. The team was previously affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders (2006–07), and the Chicago Blackhawks. They have also had a working agreement with the Houston Aeros of the AHL for the 04–05 season. On June 23, 2008, the ECHL announced that it had terminated the Ice Pilots' membership, effective immediately.
The Gulf Coast Riptide was a women's American football full contact football team in the Women's Spring Football League founded in 2001 as the Pensacola Power of the National Women's Football Association. The WFA plays under NFL rules with minor modifications such as ball size and kick off placement. Their home field was Escambia High School in West Pensacola. This team no longer plays.
The Detroit Demolition was a women's American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. During their most recent season, home games were played at Franklin High School in Livonia. They joined the National Women's Football Association (NWFA) in 2002 as the Detroit Danger, winning a national championship. Their only loss that year was in the regular season to the Cleveland Fusion by a score of 14–3.
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee. The newly renamed Tennessee Oilers played their home games during this season at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee while construction of a new stadium in Nashville started. Houston would rejoin the NFL with the expansion Texans in 2002.
The Erie Illusion was a women's football team playing in the United States Women's Football League and they were based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Their team colors was orange and purple; the team played at Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium. Mary Butler was the owner and general manager of the franchise. Troy Allen was the Illusion's final head coach.
The Nashville Dream was a women's professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They were one of the founding teams of the National Women's Football Association. The team was active from 2000 to 2007 and last played at the Glencliff High School football field.
The Pittsburgh Passion is a women's American football team based in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The franchise was formed in March 2002 and is currently owned by Teresa Conn, Anthony Misitano, and the family of Franco Harris. The team is a part of the Women's Football Alliance, with home games played at West Allegheny High School in Imperial, Pennsylvania.
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers football team, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
The Columbus Comets were a women's professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. They played in the Women's Football Alliance. The Comets played in the National Women's Football Association from their inception in 2003 until 2008. Their home games were played at Grove City Christian School in Grove City, Ohio.
The East Division was a division of the Arena Football League's American Conference. It was first formed in 1995 as part of the National Conference when expansion led to the creation of divisions.
The Cincinnati Sizzle is a women's professional full-contact/tackle football team from Cincinnati, Ohio. The team was established in 2003, by former Cincinnati Bengals running back Ickey Woods. Steve Sherman is the current owner of the Cincinnati Sizzle, as of the 2018 season, with Michelle Terrell continues in her 15th year as general manager. The regular season spans from April to July. Currently the home games are played at Walnut Hills High School (Cincinnati).
The D.C. Divas are a women's gridiron football team that plays in the Women's Football Alliance. Based in the Washington metropolitan area, the Divas play their home games at Annandale High School in Annandale, Virginia. Formerly, the Divas played at Eastern High School in Washington, D.C.; Largo High School in Largo, Maryland; the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex in Landover ; John R. Lewis High School in Springfield; The St. James in Springfield, Virginia, and at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Detroit Dark Angels were a women's semi-professional American football team founded in 2010 by Chuck Lauber and Aaron Brothers. In 2014, the team was purchased and reorganized as a 501(c)3 corporation DDA Football Inc., by a group that included former Detroit Demolition players Alecia Sweeney and Yarlen Henry along with Coach Keith Thomas.
The Atlanta Xplosion, known as the Atlanta Ravens for the year of 2011, was a football team in the Independent Women's Football League. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Xplosion played their home games in nearby Smyrna, Georgia at Campbell High School.
The Huntsville Tigers is a women's American football team located in Huntsville, Alabama. The Tigers played their first season of full-contact football in the spring of 2012. This was the Tigers' first season as a new team. The team consists of former Alabama Renegades and Tennessee Valley Tigers players as well as a number of new players.
More evidence that the NFL sometimes takes itself too seriously: Its lawyers forced the National's Women's Football League to change its name to the National Women's Football Association.
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