History of the D.C. Divas

The D. C. Divas are entering their 9th season of play in 2009. The team has an overall 8 year record of 57-17 with 1 World Championship in 2006 and 5 straight Division titles from 2003 through 2007. The D.C. Divas made their full-contact football debut in 2001. Comprised of women from varied professional and athletic backgrounds, the team was the first of its kind in the Washington metropolitan area. On May 12th, 2001 the Divas won the first game in franchise history with a 10-6 victory over the visiting Connecticut Crush.

In 2002 the Divas were reenergized by an infusion of new leadership when two die-hard fans, Leah Fahringer and Kelly George, purchased the team from the league. The 2003 campaign was full of history as the Divas recorded their first of five straight division titles. The season was punctuated by Running back Donna "The Animal" Wilkinson who became the first woman in history to rush for over a thousand yards in an 8 game season (1,267 yards).

In 2004 the Divas partnered with syndicated radio personalities "The Sports Junkies" for a highly successful charity game pitting the men vs. women on a football field. Over 8,500 fans turned out which is believed to be the largest crowd ever to watch a women's tackle football game on a team's home field. The Divas made history again after the game when Paul Hamlin, father of Divas quarterback Allyson Hamlin, became the first father in pro sports history to purchase a team to support his daughter and her teammates.

The following year also saw the team move their home field, from Eastern High School in Washington, D.C. to nearby Prince George's County, Maryland. The Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex, a modern facility with state of the art amenities for coaches, players and fans alike, became the Divas full-time home. The ladies promptly christened their new field with a perfect home record and another undefeated regular season. The Divas marched through another undefeated regular season, which featured seven shutouts in eight regular season games. Led by the league's leading defense, the Divas surrendered a league low 56 total points in 10 games. The equally rugged offense scored nearly 300 points on the season, while averaging over three hundred rushing yards per game. The year finished with 13 Divas and the coaching staff represented in the Gender Bowl. This made for TV Battle of the Sexes was played against men in the historic L.A. Coliseum and featured the Divas first trip to Hollywood.

2006 was a championship year from start to finish. The Divas defense was once again dominant, allowing just six points over the course of the first nine games and only twenty for the entire season. The Divas offense was just as imposing, rolling to a scoring average of 47 plus points per game. On Saturday, August 5th, 2006 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the Divas faced the Oklahoma City Lightning in the Championship Game. A total team effort led to a hard fought 28-7 victory and the team's first World Championship.

A year later the D.C. Divas joined the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) and won their 5th straight division title with a perfect 8-0 record. Founded in 2000, the IWFL is a full tackle, women's football league focused on creating a positive, safe and fun environment for players and spectators. Currently the IWFL has over 2,000 participating women on 43 different teams, representing the league across the United States and Canada. The Divas 2008 season was an exciting one against outstanding competition from New York, Boston and Pittsburgh. The hard fought 4-4 record saw all 4 exciting and hard fought defeats come in the last two minutes which kept the Divas from recording their 5th straight undefeated regular season.
The D.C. Divas have appeared on numerous national news outlets including ESPN, PBS and the CBS Evening news. The team has been featured locally in the Washington Post and numerous radio-print and TV outlets. The D.C. Divas players remain a very active part of the community logging over 200 community hours and helping to raise thousands of dollars in the last year.

History of the League

The Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) is a full tackle women's football league focused on creating a positive, safe and fun environment for the women who play the game and fans that come out to watch them. The IWFL was founded in 2000 by a group of women dedicated to making the sport a household name. The IWFL currently has over 1000 women playing the sport for 30 teams across North America from Southern California to Montreal and Oregon to Florida with consistent expansion into to new markets.

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