| 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]
League rules
NWFA teams played according to standard National Football League rules with the following notable exceptions:
- TDY-sized football
- only one foot in-bounds is required for a reception
- no blocking below the waist downfield
List of teams
| Team | Post-2009 status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama Renegades | joined IWFL | became the Tennessee Valley Tigers |
| Antelope Valley Bombers | defunct | |
| Arizona Wildfire | defunct | |
| Asheville Assault | defunct | |
| Atlanta Leopards | defunct | |
| Austin Outlaws | joined WFA | |
| Baltimore Burn | joined WSFL | |
| Chattanooga Locomotion | joined IWFL | |
| Cincinnati Sizzle | joined WFA | |
| Cleveland Fusion | joined WFA | |
| Clinton County Chaos | joined WSFL | |
| Columbus Comets | joined WFA | |
| Connecticut Crushers | joined IWFL | |
| D.C. Divas | joined WFA | |
| Dayton Diamonds | joined WFA | |
| Detroit Danger, Detroit Demolition | joined IWFL | |
| East Texas SaberKats | joined WFA | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| Emerald Coast Barracudas | joined WFA | |
| Erie Illusion | joined IWFL | |
| Evansville Express | defunct | |
| Fort Wayne Flash | joined WFA | |
| Gulf Coast Herricanes | defunct | |
| H-Town Texas Cyclones | joined WFA | |
| Indiana Thunder | defunct | |
| Indianapolis Chaos | defunct | |
| Iowa Thunder | joined WSFL | |
| Jacksonville Dixie Blues | joined WFA | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| Jersey Justice | joined IWFL | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| Junction City Jaguars | defunct | |
| Kansas City Krunch | defunct | |
| Kentucky Karma | joined WFA | |
| Keystone Assault | joined WFA | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| Knoxville Summit | defunct | |
| Knoxville Tornadoes | defunct | |
| Lone Star Mustangs | joined WFA | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| Los Angeles Amazons | joined IWFL | |
| Maine Freeze | defunct | |
| Marana She-Devils | joined WFA | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| Memphis Belles | joined WFA | |
| Minnesota Vixen | joined IWFL | |
| Missouri Phoenix | joined WSFL | renamed as the Kansas Phoenix |
| Modesto Maniax | joined IWFL | |
| Muscle Shoals SmasHers | defunct | |
| Nashville Dream | defunct | |
| New Jersey Titans | joined WFA | |
| New Orleans Blaze | joined WFA | |
| New York Nemesis | joined IWFL | |
| Oklahoma City Lightning | joined WFA | |
| Pensacola Power | joined WFA | became the Gulf Coast Riptide |
| Philadelphia Phoenix | joined IWFL | now the Philadelphia Firebirds |
| Phoenix Prowlers | joined WFA | |
| Pittsburgh Force | joined WFA | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| Pittsburgh Passion | joined IWFL | |
| Richmond Dream | defunct | |
| Roanoke Revenge | defunct | |
| Rochester Raptors | defunct | |
| South Bend GoldenHawks | defunct | |
| St. Louis Slam | joined WFA | |
| Tennessee Venom | defunct | |
| Tidewater Floods | defunct | |
| Tree Town Spitfire | defunct | |
| Ventura Black Widows | joined WSFL | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| West Michigan Mayhem | joined WFA | |
| West Virginia Bruisers | joined WSFL | had planned to play in NWFA for 2009 |
| West Virginia Wonders | joined WSFL | became the West Virginia Wildfire |
| Wisconsin Riverters | defunct |
Championship games
- 2001 Philadelphia Liberty Belles 40, Pensacola Power 7
- 2002 Detroit Danger 48, Massachusetts Mutiny 30[1]
- 2003 Detroit Demolition 28, Pensacola Power 21
- 2004 Detroit Demolition 52, Oklahoma City Lightning 0
- 2005 Detroit Demolition 74, Pensacola Power 0
- 2006 D.C. Divas 28, Oklahoma City Lightning 7
- 2007 Pittsburgh Passion 32, Columbus Comets 0[4]
- 2008 H-Town Texas Cyclones 39, West Michigan Mayhem 10
See also
References
- 1 2 Goodson, Mike (23 July 2004). "Women's football alive in Alabama". Gadsden Times. p. B3. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- ↑ Stellino, Vito (1 December 2002). "Emmitt shows all his tank's not empty yet". The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, FL. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
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.
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ Organ, Mike (22 July 2007). "Passion grounds Comets for title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
External links
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