Katie Hnida
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Katharine Anne Hnida (; born May 17, 1981) is a former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
player who became the first woman to score in an
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...
game, college football's highest level. She accomplished this as placekicker for the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
Lobos Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado. Background Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known ma ...
on August 30, 2003. (2-2 PATs, New Mexico vs. Texas State, 8/30/03) Hnida is the third woman to have scored in a college football game, after
Liz Heaston Elizabeth Heaston Thompson (born 1977) is an American athlete who is the first woman ever to score in a college football game. She accomplished this feat on October 18, 1997 as a placekicker for the Willamette Bearcats football team of Willamette ...
, who played for NAIA
Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...
in 1997, and
Ashley Martin Ashley Martin (born c. 1981) is an American athlete who became the first woman to play and score in an NCAA Division I American football game, and one of the first ever to score points in any college football game. She accomplished this feat Aug ...
, who played for NCAA Division I-AA
Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degr ...
in 2001. While at
University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
in 1999 she became the second woman to dress for a Division I-A game, and the first to do so for a
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
.


Early life

Hnida (pronounced without the H) grew up in Littleton, Colorado. She attended Chatfield Senior High School near Littleton, where she was a member of the football team. She went 3 for 3 in field goal attempts, and 27 for 28 in
extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
attempts in her senior year. She was a member of the varsity team and named one of America's "20 most influential teens" by ''
Teen People ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the l ...
'' magazine.
Rick Reilly Richard Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958) is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for ''Sports Illustrated'', Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008, where he was a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote t ...
wrote a "Life of Reilly" column about her.


College

After high school, Hnida enrolled at the
University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
. Due to her success in high school football, she was invited to join the
Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...
football team as a walk-on freshman placekicker by then coach
Rick Neuheisel Richard Gerald Neuheisel Jr. (; born February 7, 1961) is an American football analyst, coach, former player, and attorney. He served as the head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1995 to 1999, at the University of Washi ...
. Neuheisel left Colorado in 1998, but his replacement
Gary Barnett Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005), ...
kept the walk-on offer open. Hnida never saw playing time at Colorado, though she did suit up for games, becoming the second woman to do so in Division I football, and the first to do so in a
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
, when Colorado went to the
1999 Insight.com Bowl The 1999 Insight.com Bowl was the 11th edition of the game. It featured the Colorado Buffaloes and the Boston College Eagles. Game Summary 1st Quarter Colorado started off with a 10-yard touchdown run from Cortlen Johnson thus making it 7&ndas ...
. In 2000, after falling ill with
mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...
and
tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and en ...
, Hnida was unable to compete for a roster spot. Hnida left Colorado in 2001 and eventually transferred to the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
the following year. There she made the
New Mexico Lobos football The New Mexico Lobos football team is the intercollegiate football team at the University of New Mexico. The Lobos compete as a member of the Mountain West Conference. Their official colors are cherry and silver. The Lobos play their home games a ...
team as a walk-on placekicker. While at New Mexico, she became the first woman to play in a Division I-A bowl game when she played in the
2002 Las Vegas Bowl The 2002 SEGA Sports Las Vegas Bowl was the 11th edition of the annual college football bowl game. It featured the New Mexico Lobos and the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins defeated the Lobos, 27–13. Notably the game was the first Division I-A college foo ...
against
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, where her extra point attempt was blocked. On August 30, 2003, she became the first woman to score in a Division I-A game when she kicked two
extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
s against
Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
in the fourth quarter of a 72–8 New Mexico win. She graduated in December 2004. Hnida made more news in February 2004 when she told ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
'' writer
Rick Reilly Richard Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958) is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for ''Sports Illustrated'', Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008, where he was a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote t ...
that she had been raped by one of her teammates at Colorado in 2000, and sexually harassed on other occasions. She was one of several women who reported being assaulted by members or recruits of the Colorado football team during this time. Colorado coach
Gary Barnett Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005), ...
denied Hnida's allegation in a statement, during which he also criticized Hnida's abilities as a player. The school subsequently suspended Barnett for his comments.


Post-playing life

Hnida travels around the country to share her athletic story and her journey as a victim of sexual assault. She commonly speaks at colleges and universities to educate and raise awareness about assault. Katie has worked with many organizations that help victims of assault, including The Joyful Heart Foundation and the Voices and Faces Project. She resides in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
where she manages her speaking engagements and book tour. Hnida's father, Dave, is a physician and the medical reporter for the CBS affiliate in Denver. He is also the author of "Paradise General: Riding the Surge at a Combat Hospital in Iraq." In 2006, Hnida wrote a book about her experiences, titled ''Still Kicking: My Journey as the First Woman to Play Division One College Football''. It details abuse and sexual assault she experienced while at Colorado, as well as her experiences afterward at the University of New Mexico. In 2010, Hnida became the kicker for the Fort Wayne FireHawks in the
Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIF ...
. The league's first female player, and only the second female professional football player in history (after placeholder
Patricia Palinkas Patricia Palinkas (née Barczi, born 1943) is credited as the first woman to play American football professionally in a league made predominantly of men. She was a holder for her husband Stephen Palinkas for the Orlando Panthers of the minor leag ...
), Hnida played in the first three games of the team's season but was released later that year after developing a blood clot in her kicking leg. In 2018, Hnida became gravely ill after an adverse reaction to a prescribed antibiotic sent her into multiple organ failure; her family reported her kidneys and liver failed and her bone marrow quit functioning, resulting in admission to an
intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensi ...
and emergency dialysis.Will Webber
UNM athlete, Hnida, who became first woman to play college football, gravely ill
''The Santa Fe New Mexican'', October 31, 2018, accessed November 1, 2018.


See also

* Tonya Butler, the first female to score a field goal in an NCAA game * Sarah Fuller, the first woman to score in a
Power Five conferences The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiat ...
football game *
Liz Heaston Elizabeth Heaston Thompson (born 1977) is an American athlete who is the first woman ever to score in a college football game. She accomplished this feat on October 18, 1997 as a placekicker for the Willamette Bearcats football team of Willamette ...
, the first woman to score in a college football game, done in the NAIA *
Ashley Martin Ashley Martin (born c. 1981) is an American athlete who became the first woman to play and score in an NCAA Division I American football game, and one of the first ever to score points in any college football game. She accomplished this feat Aug ...
, the first female to score in an NCAA game, and the first to score in a Division I game *
List of female American football players Women's gridiron football (including American football and Canadian football) is a form of the sport played by women. Most leagues in the United States, such as the Women's Football Alliance, play by rules similar to men's tackle football. Alt ...


References


External links


University of New Mexico Biography of Katie Hnida (includes a photo)Katie Hnida timeline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hnida, Katie 1981 births American football placekickers Colorado Buffaloes football players Living people New Mexico Lobos football players People from the Denver metropolitan area Female players of American football Fort Wayne FireHawks players