Women's National Football Conference

Last updated

Women's National Football Conference
WNFC2019logo.png
Sport Women's American Football
Founded2018;6 years ago (2018)
FounderOdessa Jenkins
First season2019
PresidentElizabeth Jenkins
CommissionerJanice Masters
No. of teams16
Country
  • United States
Most recent
champion(s)		The Mississippi Lady Panthers
(2024)
Sponsor(s)
Official website

The Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) is a semi-pro full-contact Women's American football league in the United States. With teams across the United States, the WNFC had its first game in 2019 with fourteen regular teams and one exhibition team.

Contents

League history

The Women's National Football Conference was founded in 2018, with their inaugural season in 2019. On their website, the WNFC is described as looking to create a standard of excellence and opportunities. The league's mission is to accelerate financial equity for women through the power of football, reshaping the landscape of sports and entertainment by demonstrating that women belong on the field, at the table, and in leadership.

On December 10, 2018, the WNFC announced a partnership with Adidas, as part of the latter's "She Breaks Barriers" initiative. [1] As part of that partnership, Adidas serves as the WNFC's presenting sponsor, with all WNFC teams wearing custom-made Adidas uniforms.

2019

The WNFC played their inaugural season in 2019 with fourteen regular teams and one exhibition team. Five teams came to the WNFC from the Independent Women's Football League (which folded after the 2018 season), three from the WFA, two from the USWFL, and five were teams playing their inaugural season in the WNFC.

The season began on April 6 and ended with the inaugural IX Cup (named in honor of Title IX) on June 29, which saw the Texas Elite Spartans defeat the Utah Falconz 19–14. [2]

In October 2019, The Women's National Football Conference launched the anti-bullying, girls empowerment program, Got Her Back. [3]

2020

The WNFC added seven teams for the 2020 season: three from the WFA, two from the USWFL and three expansion teams. No games were played due to COVID-19.

2021

The WNFC returned to play on May 1, 2021. The league provided weekly COVID-19 testing for all its 20 teams. All games were streamed on the Vyre Network. The season ended with Texas Elite Spartans defeating the San Diego Rebellion 27–6.

2022

The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2022 season on April 2. All games were streamed on the Vyre Network. The season ended with the Texas Elite Spartans defeating the Utah Falconz 48–12. The WNFC website reported that their broadcast viewership across all Vyre Network platforms had incewased by 475% from 2021, throughout the course of the 2022 season.

2023

The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2023 season on April 1. All games were streamed on the Vyre Network. The season ended with the Texas Elite Spartans defeating the Mississippi Lady Panthers 49–7.

2024

The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2024 season on April 6. All games were streamed on Caffeine TV and DAZN. The season ended with the Mississippi Lady Panthers defeating the Texas Elite Spartans 13–6. The WNFC has reported that there were 10 million streams on Caffeine TV and 15 million paid subscriptions on DAZN.

The WNFC has announced that starting in the 2025 season, each tackle team will also be fielding a flag football team for women ages 18+.

On May 9, 2024, the WNFC announced a partnership with Gridiron Football. [4]

On Nov 24, 2024, the WNFC announced a tha they raised $1M in Seed Funding.

  1. ↑ "ADIDAS KICKS OFF INITIATIVE TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS FACED BY WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORT". Adidas.com. December 10, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  2. ↑ "WNFC'S IX CUP CHAMPIONSHIP LIVES UP TO THE HYPE!". July 9, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) Launches Anti Bullying, Girls Empowerment Program". October 2, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  4. ↑ "WNFC and Gridiron Football Unite Forces in Historic Partnership". WNFC. May 9, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.

Teams

TeamLocationVenueHead coachFoundedJoined
Jersey Shore WaveTBDTBDFabian Alesandro20242024
Atlanta TruthTBDTBDKameron Marks20242024
Chicago WindsTBDTBDTBD20242024
Denver Bandits Aurora, Colorado North StadiumSam Turner20182019
Florida Avengers Jacksonville, Florida Ed Waters UniversityDamien Grimes20192020
Houston Mambas Missouri City, Texas Edward Mercer StadiumChenille Tillman-Brooks20222022
Kansas City Glory Kansas City, Missouri Shawnee Mission North High SchoolKeKe Blackmon20192019
Las Vegas Silver Stars Las Vegas, Nevada Faith Lutheran Middle School and High SchoolCarrie Walters20172019
Los Angeles Legends Los Angeles, CA Junipero Serra High SchoolMonique Moe Adams and Tim Holmes20212022
Mississippi Panthers [1] Jackson, Mississippi Madison Ridgeland AcademyLeSteven Jackson20182020
Oregon Ravens Portland, Oregon Milwaukie High SchoolTim Price20192019
San Diego Rebellion San Diego, California Escondido High SchoolKnengi Martin20172019
Seattle Majestics Kent, Washington French Field Rodney McCurry20022019
Tennessee Trojans Nashville, Tennessee Lipscomb Athletic ComplexKim Corbett20222023
Texas Elite Spartans Addison, Texas Lewisville High SchoolOdessa Jenkins20172019
Utah Falconz Murray, Utah Cottonwood High School Keith Barnes20142019
Washington Prodigy Washington, D.C. Theodore Roosevelt Senior High SchoolLaMont Jordan20122020

Map of teams

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Current WNFC team locations (Pacific Division teams in blue; Atlantic Division teams in red, Central Division teams in green)

Former teams

Timeline

Chicago WindsAtlanta TruthTennessee TrojansLos Angeles LegendsWashington ProdigyPhiladelphia PhantomzOregon RavensMississippi Lady PanthersLa Muerte de Las CrucesKansas City GloryFlorida AvengersCarolina QueensUtah FalconzTexas Elite SpartansSeattle MajesticsSan Diego SurgeSan Diego RebellionPhoenix ProwlersNorth Florida PumasNew Orleans HippiesNebraska Nite HawksLos Angeles BobcatsLas Vegas Silver StarsHouston MambasDenver BanditsAtlanta PhoenixAlabama FireWomen's National Football Conference

IX Cup

YearTitleHome teamAway teamScore
2019 2019 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Utah Falconz 19–14
2021 2021 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans San Diego Rebellion 27–6
2022 2022 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Utah Falconz 48–14
2023 2023 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Mississippi Panthers 49–7
20242024 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansMississippi Panthers6–13

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.mpbonline.org/television/mississippi-roads/ Mississippi Roads episode Wise, Wilfull, Women February 13, 2022
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