The Women's Professional American Football League (WPFL) was a women's professional
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
league in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. 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.
Unlike the other
women's American football
Women's gridiron football, more commonly known as women's tackle football, women's American football, women's Canadian football, or simply women's football, is a form of gridiron football (American or Canadian) played by women. Most leagues pla ...
franchises, the WPFL operated as a
fall league and not a spring league.
History
In 1999 two businessmen, Carter Turner and Terry Sullivan, 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 dubbed the “No Limits” Barnstorming Tour.
The success of the Barnstorming Tour led to the first official WPFL season in 2000 with 11 teams competing nationwide. 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.
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; 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; changes to player/team compensation; and the moving of the start of the season from fall to summer.
In this league it is okay to throw like a girl , Feb 9, 2001
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Championships
See also
*American football in the United States
American football is a form of gridiron football and the most popular sport in the United States. In the United States, the game is most often referred to as simply "football". Football is played in leagues of different size, age and quality, i ...
* Women's football in the United States
* Independent Women's Football League (IWFL)
* National Women's Football Association
* Women's American Football League (WAFL)
* American Football Women's League (AFWL)
*List of leagues of American football
This is a list of current and defunct leagues of American football and Canadian football.
Leagues in North America
Current professional leagues in North America
Professional outdoor leagues
''Major:''
* National Football League (NFL), 1 ...
References
{{Major women's sport leagues in North America
Women's American football leagues