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In the early 1960s, [[women's liberation|many women]] thought that sports in the US were [[sexist]] and needed to shift in another direction, moving beyond the [[stereotype]] that women were passive. This sentiment formed the background for the women's football league that was started in order to prove that women had the power to do what men did, with hopes that people would enjoy women's football as much as they did men's. In 1965, the name changed to its WPFL incarnation. Since there were no college women's football teams in the US, most of their athletes came from [[basketball]], [[rugby football|rugby]], and association football ([[soccer]]). After a few years, the sport began to fade. |
In the early 1960s, [[women's liberation|many women]] thought that sports in the US were [[sexist]] and needed to shift in another direction, moving beyond the [[stereotype]] that women were passive. This sentiment formed the background for the women's football league that was started in order to prove that women had the power to do what men did, with hopes that people would enjoy women's football as much as they did men's. In 1965, the name changed to its WPFL incarnation. Since there were no college women's football teams in the US, most of their athletes came from [[basketball]], [[rugby football|rugby]], and association football ([[soccer]]). After a few years, the sport began to fade. |
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In |
In1999 two businessmen, Carter Turner and Terry Sullivan,<ref>[http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0051,cagan,20845,3.html A League of Their Own, page 1 - News - Village Voice - Village Voice<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> decided to research the feasibility of a professional women’s football league by gathering together top female athletes into two teams and playing an exhibition game in front of an audience. The game between the [[Lake Michigan Minx]] and the [[Minnesota Vixens]] at the [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]] in Minneapolis, Minnesota was a success and turned into a six-game exhibition tour across the country<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2001/trueheartedvixens/thefilm.html P.O.V. - True-Hearted Vixens . The Film | PBS<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> dubbed the “No Limits” Barnstorming Tour.<ref>[http://www.girlstalksports.com/FOOTBALL/football.html NHL Football - Women’s Professional Football League – NFL for women - News by Girls Talk Sports<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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The success of the Barnstorming Tour led to the first official WPFL season in 2000 with 11 teams competing nationwide.<ref>[http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2000/football-1213.html Campus cop tackles women's pro football - MIT News Office<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> This first season ended with some turmoil however; the regular season was shortened by several games, players were not given their promised $ |
The success of the Barnstorming Tour led to the first official WPFL season in 2000 with 11 teams competing nationwide.<ref>[http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2000/football-1213.html Campus cop tackles women's pro football - MIT News Office<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> This first season ended with some turmoil however; the regular season was shortened by several games, players were not given their promised $100 per-game salaries, and there were allegations regarding instability with some of the league's financial backers.<ref>[http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=2393 Orlando Weekly - Features Story - Stumbling, Bumbling, Tumbling<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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The WPFL rebounded the next year completing the 2001 season after several organizational changes. Notable changes included the departure of founders Sullivan and Turner (Turner then founded the [[Women's American Football League|WAFL]];<ref>[http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/2001/12/19/wafl/index2.html Women's football: Ready for prime time? | Salon People<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> restructure of the league by several WPFL team owners: Melissa Korpacz - New England Storm, Robin Howington - Houston Energy, and Donna Roebuck and Dee Kennamer - Austin Rage;<ref>http://www.newenglandstorm.com/team/index.html</ref> changes to player/team compensation; and the moving of the start of the season from fall to summer.<ref>[http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxxi/2001.02.09/sports/p29league.html In this league it is okay to throw like a girl | Feb 9, 2001<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
The WPFL rebounded the next year completing the 2001 season after several organizational changes. Notable changes included the departure of founders Sullivan and Turner (Turner then founded the [[Women's American Football League|WAFL]];<ref>[http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/2001/12/19/wafl/index2.html Women's football: Ready for prime time? | Salon People<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> restructure of the league by several WPFL team owners: Melissa Korpacz - New England Storm, Robin Howington - Houston Energy, and Donna Roebuck and Dee Kennamer - Austin Rage;<ref>http://www.newenglandstorm.com/team/index.html</ref> changes to player/team compensation; and the moving of the start of the season from fall to summer.<ref>[http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxxi/2001.02.09/sports/p29league.html In this league it is okay to throw like a girl | Feb 9, 2001<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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==Championships== |
==Championships== |
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{| class="wikitable" |
{| class="wikitable" |
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! Year !! Champion |
! Year !! Champion !! Score !! Runner-Up |
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! [[ 1998 WPFL season|1998]] |
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| align="center" | New England Storm || align="center" | n/a || align="center" | n/a |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[1999 WPFL season|1999]] |
! [[1999 WPFL season|1999]] |
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| align="center" | |
| align="center" | Lake Michigan Minx || align="center" | 30-27 || align="center" | Minnesota Vixen |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2000 WPFL season|2000]] |
! [[2000 WPFL season|2000]] |
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| align="center" | |
| align="center" | Houston Energy || align="center" | 39-7 || align="center" | New England Storm |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2001 WPFL season|2001]] |
! [[2001 WPFL season|2001]] |
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| align="center" | Houston Energy || align="center" | |
| align="center" | Houston Energy || align="center" | 47-14 || align="center" | Austin Rage |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2002 WPFL season|2002]] |
! [[2002 WPFL season|2002]] |
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| align="center" | Houston Energy || align="center" | |
| align="center" | Houston Energy || align="center" | 56-7 || align="center" | Wisconsin Riveters |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2003 WPFL season|2003]] |
! [[2003 WPFL season|2003]] |
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| align="center" | |
| align="center" | Northern Ice || align="center" | 53-12 || align="center" | Florida Stingrays |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2004 WPFL season|2004]] |
! [[2004 WPFL season|2004]] |
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| align="center" | Dallas Diamonds || align="center" | 68- |
| align="center" | Dallas Diamonds || align="center" | 68-13 || align="center" | Northern Ice |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2005 WPFL season|2005]] |
! [[2005 WPFL season|2005]] |
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| align="center" | Dallas Diamonds || align="center" | |
| align="center" | Dallas Diamonds || align="center" | 61-8 || align="center" | New York Dazzles |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2006 WPFL season|2006]] |
! [[2006 WPFL season|2006]] |
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| align="center" | |
| align="center" | Dallas Diamonds || align="center" | 34-27 || align="center" | Houston Energy |
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|- |
|- |
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! [[2007 WPFL season|2007]] |
! [[2007 WPFL season|2007]] |
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| align="center" | SoCal Scorpions || align="center" | |
| align="center" | SoCal Scorpions || align="center" | 14-7|| align="center" | Houston Energy |
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|} |
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![[2008 WPFL season|2008]] |
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==See also== |
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|align="center" |Dallas Diamonds|| align="center" |3-3|| align="center" | Florida Stingrays |
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*[[Independent Women's Football League]] (IWFL) |
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*[[National Women's Football Association]] |
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*[[Women's American Football League]] (WAFL) |
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*[[American Football Women's League]] (AWFL) |
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*[[List of leagues of American football]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.iwflsports.com IWFL - The Women's League] |
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*[http://www.eteamz.com/LTFL/ Lady Tackle Football League] |
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*[http://www.nfl.com/ Official Home of the National Football League] |
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*[http://www.womentackle.com Women's Football Forums] |
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{{Women's gridiron football leagues}} |
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[[Category:Women's Professional Football League]] |
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[[Category:Women's American football leagues]] |
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The WPFL logo
| |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 1 |
| Country |  United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | So Cal Scorpions |
The Women's Professional Football League (WPFL) was the first and longest operating women's professional American football league in the United States. With teams across the United States, the WPFL had its first game in 1999 with just two original teams: the Lake Michigan Minx and the Minnesota Vixens. Fifteen teams nationwide competed for the championship in 2006.
The league had been recognized in national media campaigns, in the book Atta Girl, and even had a team (the New England Storm) that had a commercial relationship with an NFL team, the New England Patriots.
Unlike the other women's American football franchises, the WPFL operated as a fall league and not a spring league.
In the early 1960s, many women thought that sports in the US were sexist and needed to shift in another direction, moving beyond the stereotype that women were passive. This sentiment formed the background for the women's football league that was started in order to prove that women had the power to do what men did, with hopes that people would enjoy women's football as much as they did men's. In 1965, the name changed to its WPFL incarnation. Since there were no college women's football teams in the US, most of their athletes came from basketball, rugby, and association football (soccer). After a few years, the sport began to fade.
In 1999 two businessmen, Carter Turner and Terry Sullivan,[1] decided to research the feasibility of a professional women’s football league by gathering together top female athletes into two teams and playing an exhibition game in front of an audience. The game between the Lake Michigan Minx and the Minnesota Vixens at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota was a success and turned into a six-game exhibition tour across the country[2] dubbed the “No Limits” Barnstorming Tour.[3]
The success of the Barnstorming Tour led to the first official WPFL season in 2000 with 11 teams competing nationwide.[4] This first season ended with some turmoil however; the regular season was shortened by several games, players were not given their promised $100 per-game salaries, and there were allegations regarding instability with some of the league's financial backers.[5]
The WPFL rebounded the next year completing the 2001 season after several organizational changes. Notable changes included the departure of founders Sullivan and Turner (Turner then founded the WAFL;[6] restructure of the league by several WPFL team owners: Melissa Korpacz - New England Storm, Robin Howington - Houston Energy, and Donna Roebuck and Dee Kennamer - Austin Rage;[7] changes to player/team compensation; and the moving of the start of the season from fall to summer.[8]
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Lake Michigan Minx | 30-27 | Minnesota Vixen |
| 2000 | Houston Energy | 39-7 | New England Storm |
| 2001 | Houston Energy | 47-14 | Austin Rage |
| 2002 | Houston Energy | 56-7 | Wisconsin Riveters |
| 2003 | Northern Ice | 53-12 | Florida Stingrays |
| 2004 | Dallas Diamonds | 68-13 | Northern Ice |
| 2005 | Dallas Diamonds | 61-8 | New York Dazzles |
| 2006 | Dallas Diamonds | 34-27 | Houston Energy |
| 2007 | SoCal Scorpions | 14-7 | Houston Energy |
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Women's gridiron football leagues
| |
|---|---|
| United States |
|
| Canada |
|
| Australia |
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| Defunct |
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