Women's Football Alliance

Women's Football Alliance
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2016 Women's Football Alliance season
Sport Women's American football
Founded 2008
No. of teams 43 for 2016 season
Country  United States
Most recent
champion(s)
Tier I - D.C. Divas
Tier II - St. Louis Slam
Tier III - Acadiana Zydeco
Most titles Boston Militia
and
D.C. Divas (2 each)

The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a full-contact Women's American football league that began play in 2009. It is one of three full-contact, 11-on-11 football leagues for women, along with the Independent Women's Football League and the United States Women's Football League, and the largest of the three. The league is owned and operated by Jeff and Lisa King of Exeter, California. It is the longest running league.

League history

The Women's Football Alliance was established in 2009 and began its inaugural season with 36 teams. Many of these teams were already established teams moving in from other leagues such as Women's Professional Football League, Independent Women's Football League and National Women's Football Association, while others began their inaugural season of play in the WFA.

2009

The first season of play ended with a championship game, which was played in the rebuilding (post-Katrina) city of New Orleans, Louisiana and was hosted by the New Orleans Blaze. The game was between the St. Louis Slam (American Conference - St. Louis, MO) and the West Michigan Mayhem (National Conference - Kalamazoo, MI). The game came down to the last few plays and the St. Louis Slam became the first National Champions in the WFA with a final score of 21-14. Additionally, there was an International Game played between the upstart Aguilas Regias of Monterrey, Mexico and the hosting team, New Orleans Blaze. The Blaze won this game 12-0.

2010

The WFA grew in the second year (2010) to have over 40 teams competing for the National Championship. The national championship for the 2010 season was accompanied by the first All-American game. The term All-American is used by the WFA to represent the best players at all positions from all WFA teams. The teams were chosen partly based on statistics and partly based on the vote of head coaches. The All-American game was played just before the championship game in Las Vegas, Nevada and was hosted by the Las Vegas Showgirlz. The All-American game was won by the American Conference. The second championship in the WFA would again come down to the last few plays and have a score differential of only four points. The Lone Star Mustangs (American Conference - Dallas/Fort Worth) defeated the Columbus Comets (National Conference - Columbus, Ohio) to become the second National Champions of the WFA by a score of 16-12.

2011

As the Women's Football Alliance prepared for the 2011 season, they were scheduled to have over 60 teams playing across the United States. They again grew due in part to new teams starting and in part due to established teams moving in from other leagues, most notably the New York Sharks,[1] D.C. Divas,[2] Chicago Force,[3] Dallas Diamonds, and Kansas City Tribe.[4] In the 2011 WFA championship, which was held in Bedford, Texas, the Boston Militia defeated the San Diego Surge 34-19 to claim the title.

2012

The WFA opened the season with 60 teams. The 2012 WFA National Championship game took place at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home stadium of the NFL franchise Pittsburgh Steelers; it was the first women's football championship game to be played in an NFL stadium.[5] After losing the title game in the previous season, the San Diego Surge returned to win the 2012 championship 40-36 over the Chicago Force.

2013

The WFA opened the season with 50 teams. Running back Whitney Zelee (Boston Militia) made headlines in 2013 by becoming the league's first player to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a football season, setting a league record of 2,128 yards.[6] After losing the title game in the previous season, the Chicago Force returned to win the 2013 championship over the Dallas Diamonds 81-34 at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California.

2014

The WFA opened the season with 42 teams. The Boston Militia became the league's first two-time champion in 2014, winning 69-34 in a title rematch with the San Diego Surge at Lane Tech Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. During championship weekend, the league introduced a new mid-major bowl game: the Alliance Bowl. The Seattle Majestics of the American Conference faced the Indy Crash of the National Conference in a contest to "showcase of the depth of quality teams that exist in the Women's Football Alliance." [7] The Indy Crash prevailed 26-12. This season was also notable for the introduction of Kenneth Massey Ratings into the league's playoffs system.

2016

The WFA opened the season with 43 teams. Allison Cahill of the Boston Renegades reached a new milestone in sports by becoming the first quarterback to attain 100 victories playing exclusively in women's football leagues.[8] WFA officials launched a new league structure consisting of three divisions/tiers. They also announced the W Bowl as their new brand for the WFA National Championship game. With a 28-26 victory over the Dallas Elite, the D.C. Divas won the inaugural W Bowl and their second National Championship in as many years. The St. Louis Slam downed the Tampa Bay Inferno 38-7 to claim the Division II championship. The Acadiana Zydeco defeated the Richmond Black Widows 20-18 in the Division III title game. All three games were played at Joe P. Michaela Stadium in Imperial, Pa.

Teams

American Conference

Pacific North Division

Team Location Home Field
Everett Reign Everett, Washington Everett Memorial Stadium
Portland Shockwave Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro Stadium
Seattle Majestics Kent, Washington French Field
Southern Oregon Lady Renegades Medford, Oregon Eagle Point High School
Tacoma Trauma Tacoma, Washington Curtis Senior High School

Mountain West Division

Team Location Home Field
Mile High Blaze Denver, Colorado Shea Stadium Highlands Ranch
Utah Blitz Salt Lake City, Utah Judge Memorial Catholic High School

Pacific South Division

Team Location Home Field
Central Cal War Angels Fresno, California Fresno City College
Pacific Warriors Carson, California Carson High School
Sin City Trojans Las Vegas, Nevada Eldorado High School
Ventura County Wolfpack Ventura, California Santa Paula High School
West Coast Lightning Temecula, California Linfield Christian School

Great Plains Division

Team Location Home Field
Kansas City Titans Kansas City, Missouri Shawnee Mission South High School
Acadiana Zydeco Opelousas, Louisiana Donald Gardner Stadium
St. Louis Slam St. Louis, Missouri Lindenwood University

South West Division

Team Location Home Field
Arlington Impact Bedford, Texas Pennington Field
Austin Outlaws Round Rock, Texas Round Rock Independent School District Athletic Complex
Dallas Elite Addison, Texas Alfred Loos Stadium
Houston Power Houston, Texas WW Thorne Stadium
Tulsa Threat Tulsa, Oklahoma Milton Stadium

National Conference

Great Lakes Division

Team Location Home Field
Chicago Force Chicago, Illinois Lane Tech Stadium
Detroit Dark Angels Westland, Michigan John Glenn High School
Flint City Riveters Flint, Michigan Burton Atherton High School
Indy Crash Indianapolis, Indiana Roncalli High School (Indiana) Arsenal Technical High School
West Michigan Mayhem Kalamazoo, Michigan Soisson-Rapacz-Clason Field

Colonial Division

Team Location Home Field
Boston Renegades Somerville, Massachusetts Dilboy Stadium
DC Divas Landover, Maryland Prince George's Sports Complex
Keystone Assault Hummelstown, Pennsylvania/Baltimore, Maryland Lower Dauphin Middle School in Hummelstown, PA & Patterson Park in Baltimore, MD
Philadelphia Phantomz Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Gratz High School
Richmond Black Widows Richmond, Virginia Hovey Field, Virginia Union University

Central North Division

Team Location Home Field
Cleveland Fusion Cleveland, Ohio Case Western Reserve University
Columbus Comets Grove City, Ohio Grove City Christian School
Pittsburgh Passion Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Slippery Rock University
Thee Toledo Reign Toledo, Ohio Don Paul Stadium in Fremont & Toledo Rogers HS

North Atlantic Division

Team Location Home Field
Alabama Fire Midfield, Alabama Birmingham Carver High School
Atlanta Phoenix Sandy Springs, Georgia North Springs Charter School of Arts and Sciences
Tri-Cities Thunder Piney Flats, Tennessee Bristol Stadium
Derby City Dynamite Louisville, Kentucky John Hardin HS Elizabethtown
Fayetteville Fierce Fayetteville, North Carolina Westover Rec Center
Huntsville Tigers Huntsville, Alabama Discovery Middle School

South Atlantic Division

Team Location Home Field
Daytona Wave Runners Daytona Beach, Florida Municipal Stadium
Jacksonville Dixie Blues Jacksonville, Florida University Christian School
Orlando Anarchy Orlando, Florida Colonial High School
Tampa Bay Inferno Tampa, Florida Skyway Park

Expansion/Inactive Teams

Team Location Home Field
Arizona Assassins Phoenix, Arizona Washington High School
Arkansas Wildcats Little Rock, Arkansas Central High School
Central Maryland Seahawks Woodlawn, Maryland Woodlawn, Maryland
East Texas Crusaders Longview, Texas
Franklin Nightmare Franklin, Tennessee
Low Country Chaos South Carolina
Memphis Stars Memphis, Tennessee
Miami Fury North Miami, Florida Cagni Park and North Miami Athletic Park
Minnesota Machine Woodbury, Minnesota Woodbury High School
Oakland Domineers Oakland, California
Port City Jaguars Shreveport, Louisiana
San Diego Surge Santee, California Santana High School

Former WFA teams

WFA Championship Game Results

YearWinnerLoserScore
2009St. Louis SlamWest Michigan Mayhem21-14
2010Lone Star MustangsColumbus Comets16-12
2011Boston MilitiaSan Diego Surge34-19
2012San Diego SurgeChicago Force40-36
2013Chicago ForceDallas Diamonds81-34
2014Boston MilitiaSan Diego Surge69-34
2015D.C. DivasDallas Elite30-26
2016D.C. DivasDallas Elite28-26

Division/Tier II Championship Game Results

YearWinnerLoserScore
2016St. Louis SlamTampa Bay Inferno38-7

Division/Tier III Championship Game Results

YearWinnerLoserScore
2016Acadiana ZydecoRichmond Black Widows20-18

Alliance Bowl Results

YearWinnerLoserScore
2014Indy CrashSeattle Majestics26-12
2015Central Cal War AngelsAtlanta Phoenix28-8

Alliance Bowl Midwest Region Results

YearWinnerLoserScore
2015Houston PowerAcadiana Zydeco18-6

See also

References

  1. http://www.alternet.org/culture/149446/new_york_sharks_women_tackle_the_football_world
  2. http://www.gazette.net/gazettecms/story.php?id=2010
  3. http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/call-of-the-wild/2010/11/chicago-force-begin-try-outs-ladies-are-you-ready-to-play-some-football.html
  4. http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2010/08/kansas_city_tribe.php
  5. "Heinz Field To Host SilverSport Women's Football Alliance National Championship". Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh Steelers. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  6. Staffieri, Mark. "Whitney Zelee Emerging as the Finest Running Back in All of Women's Football". Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  7. "2014 WFA National Championship Weekend" (Press Release). wfafootball.net. Women's Football Alliance. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  8. "Cahill Notches 100th Career Victory" (Press Release). bostonrenegadesfootball.com. Boston Renegades Women's Football. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  9. Rivera, Andrea (January 28, 2009). "She Devils plan on full contact". Arizona Daily Star. tucson.com. Retrieved 13 January 2016.

External links

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