Women's National Football Conference

The Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) is an amateur[1] 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.

Women's National Football Conference
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 Women's National Football Conference season
SportWomen's American football
Founded2018 (2018)
Inaugural season2019
PresidentOdessa Jenkins
CommissionerJanice Masters
No. of teams18
Country
  • United States
Most recent
champion(s)
Texas Elite Spartans
Sponsor(s)Adidas

Riddell

Dick's Sporting Goods

United Sports Brands
Official websitewnfcfootball.com

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 WNFC does not charge teams of players a fee for entry into the league; rather, teams are invited into the league based on quality of market, team, players and ownership.[2]

On December 10, 2018, the WNFC announced a partnership with Adidas, as part of the latter's "She Breaks Barriers" initiative.[3] 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 brand-new 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.[4]

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 reports that their broadcast viewership across all Vyre Network platforms has skyrocketed by 475% from 2021, throughout the course of the 2022 season.

Teams

Team Location Venue Head coach Founded Joined
Denver Lady Bandits Aurora, Colorado Aurora Public Schools Stadium Marcel Sampson 2018 2019
Las Vegas Silver Stars Las Vegas, Nevada Eldorado High School Carrie Walters 2017 2019
San Diego Rebellion San Diego, California Balboa Stadium Knengi Martin 2017 2019
Seattle Majestics Kent, Washington French Field Cyndi Butz-Houghton 2002 2019
Utah Falconz Murray, Utah Cottonwood High School Rick Rasmussen 2002 2019
Atlanta Phoenix Mableton, Georgia Pebblebrook High School Brian Montgomery 2011 2019
Houston Mambas Missouri City, Texas Various Daryl Hobbs 2017 2019
Tennessee Trojans Nashville, Tennessee
Texas Elite Spartans Addison, Texas Alfred J. Loos Stadium Odessa Jenkins 2017 2019
Florida Avengers Jacksonville, Florida TBD TBD 2019 2020
Kansas City Glory Kansas City, Missouri TBD KeKe Blackmon 2019 2020
Mississippi Panthers[5] Jackson, Mississippi Various LeSteven Jackson 2018 2020
Oregon Ravens Portland, Oregon Roosevelt High School Tim Price 2019 2020
Philly Phantomz Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium Rich Harrigan 2015 2020
Washington Prodigy Washington, D.C. Woodrow Wilson High School Tony Bell 2012 2020
Los Angeles Legends Los Angeles, CA Mira Costa High School Armando Magdaleno 2021 2022

Map of teams

Women's National Football Conference is located in the United States
Rebellion
Rebellion
Bandits
Bandits
Silver Stars
Silver Stars
Elite Spartans
Elite Spartans
Fire
Fire
Heat
Heat
Avengers
Avengers
Glory
Glory
La Muerte
La Muerte
Lady Panthers
Lady Panthers
Ravens
Ravens
Phantomz
Phantomz
Prodigy
Prodigy
Trojans
Trojans
Current WNFC team locations (Pacific Conference teams in blue; Atlantic Conference teams in red, exhibition teams in purple, future teams in green)

Former teams

  • New Orleans Hippies — Played in the WNFC in 2019
  • North Florida Pumas — Played in the WNFC in 2019, now a member of the Women's Tackle Football League.
  • San Diego Surge — Played in the WNFC in 2019
  • Nebraska Nite Hawks — Played in the WNFC in 2019-2021
  • Carolina Queens — Played in the WNFC in 2021
  • Los Angeles Bobcats — Played in the WNFC in 2019-2021

Timeline

Carolina QueensUtah FalconzSeattle MajesticsSan Diego SurgePhoenix ProwlersAtlanta Phoenix

IX Cup

YearTitleHome teamAway teamScore
20192019 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansUtah Falconz19–14
20212021 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansSan Diego Rebellion27–6
20222022 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansUtah Falconz48-14
20232023 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansMississippi Panthers49-7

References

  1. "ABOUT | About | Women's National Football Conference". WNFC. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  2. About Us - WNFCFootball.com
  3. "ADIDAS KICKS OFF INITIATIVE TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS FACED BY WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORT". Adidas.com. December 10, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  4. "WNFC'S IX CUP CHAMPIONSHIP LIVES UP TO THE HYPE!". July 9, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  5. https://www.mpbonline.org/television/mississippi-roads/ Mississippi Roads episode Wise, Wilfull, Women February 13, 2022
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