National Women's Football Association
| 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
Teams that joined another league
- Alabama Renegades (joined IWFL, where they became the Tennessee Valley Tigers)
- Austin Outlaws (joined WFA)
- Baltimore Burn (joined WSFL)
- Chattanooga Locomotion (joined IWFL)
- Cleveland Fusion (joined WFA)
- Clinton County Chaos (Joined WSFL)
- Cincinnati Sizzle (joined WFA)
- Columbus Comets (joined WFA)
- Connecticut Crushers (joined IWFL
- Dayton Diamonds (joined WFA)
- Detroit Danger, Detroit Demolition (joined Independent Women's Football League IWFL)
- East Texas SaberKats (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WFA instead)
- D.C. Divas (joined IWFL)
- Emerald Coast Barracudas (joined WFA)
- Erie Illusion (joined IWFL)
- Fort Wayne Flash (joined WFA)
- H-Town Texas Cyclones (joined WFA)
- Iowa Thunder (joined WSFL)
- Jacksonville Dixie Blues (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WFA instead)
- Jersey Justice (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined IWFL instead)
- Kentucky Karma (joined WFA)
- Keystone Assault (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WFA instead)
- Lone Star Mustangs (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WFA instead)
- Los Angeles Amazons (joined IWFL)
- Marana She-Devils (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WFA instead)
- Memphis Belles (joined WFA)
- Minnesota Vixen (joined IWFL)
- Missouri Phoenix (renamed as the Kansas Phoenix and joined WSFL)
- Modesto Maniax (joined IWFL)
- New Orleans Blaze (joined WFA)
- New Jersey Titans (joined WFA)
- New York Nemesis (joined IWFL)
- Pensacola Power (joined WFA, where they became the Gulf Coast Riptide)
- Pittsburgh Force (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WFA instead)
- Pittsburgh Passion (joined IWFL)
- Philadelphia Phoenix (joined IWFL, where they are now the Philadelphia Firebirds)
- Phoenix Prowlers (joined WFA)
- Oklahoma City Lightning (joined WFA)
- St. Louis Slam (joined WFA)
- Ventura Black Widows (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WSFL instead)
- West Michigan Mayhem (joined WFA)
- West Virginia Bruisers (had planned to play in NWFA for 2009, but joined WSFL instead)
- West Virginia Wonders (joined Women's Spring Football League, where they became the West Virginia Wildfire)
Defunct teams
- Antelope Valley Bombers
- Arizona Wildfire
- Asheville Assault
- Atlanta Leopards
- Evansville Express
- Gulf Coast Herricanes
- Indiana Thunder
- Indianapolis Chaos
- Junction City Jaguars
- Kansas City Krunch
- Knoxville Summit
- Knoxville Tornadoes
- Maine Freeze
- Muscle Shoals SmasHers
- Nashville Dream
- Richmond Dream
- Roanoke Revenge
- Rochester Raptors
- South Bend GoldenHawks
- Tennessee Venom
- Tidewater Floods
- Tree Town Spitfire
- Wisconsin Riverters
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 (July 23, 2004). "Women's football alive in Alabama". Gadsden Times. p. B3. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
- ↑ Stellino, Vito (December 1, 2002). The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, FL http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120102/jag_11108553.shtml. Retrieved April 9, 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.
Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ http://www.americanfootballassn.com/forms/2010HallofFameListing.pdf
- ↑ Organ, Mike (July 22, 2007). "Passion grounds Comets for title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
External links
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