National Women's Football Association Explained

Sport:	American football
Founded:	2000
Folded:	2008
Champion:	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. 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. 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.^[1]

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
		became the Tennessee Valley Tigers
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
	defunct
	defunct
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
	defunct
	defunct
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
	defunct
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
		renamed as the Kansas Phoenix
	defunct
	defunct
		became the Gulf Coast Riptide
		now the Philadelphia Firebirds
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
	defunct
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
		had planned to play in NWFA for 2009
		became the West Virginia Wildfire
	defunct

• IWFL = Independent Women's Football League
• WFA = Women's Football Alliance
• WSFL = Women's Spring Football League

Championship games

• 2001 Philadelphia Liberty Belles 40, Pensacola Power 7
• 2002 Detroit Danger 48, Massachusetts Mutiny 30
• 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
• 2008 H-Town Texas Cyclones 39, West Michigan Mayhem 10

See also

• Women's football in the United States
• List of leagues of American football
• Women's National Basketball Association

External links

• American Football Association

Notes and References

1. Web site: Archived copy . 2011-08-29 . 2016-01-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160122083011/http://www.americanfootballassn.com/forms/2010HallofFameListing.pdf . dead .