{"id":12442,"date":"2025-06-03T08:56:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T13:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12442"},"modified":"2025-06-03T08:56:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T13:56:58","slug":"breaking-gridiron-ground-uw-stout-triumphs-in-first-ever-womens-flag-football-league-sponsored-by-minnesota-vikings","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/breaking-gridiron-ground-uw-stout-triumphs-in-first-ever-womens-flag-football-league-sponsored-by-minnesota-vikings\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking gridiron ground: UW-Stout triumphs in first-ever women\u2019s flag football league sponsored by Minnesota Vikings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Quarterback Allison Letcher hoists the championship trophy following the Blue Devils’ victory in the Midwest College Women\u2019s Flag Football League Championship at the Minnesota Vikings’ TCO Performance Center April 26.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blue Devils finish with 8-3 record, becomes first four-year university in Wisconsin to field a sponsored team<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just a handful of months after being recruited for a brand-new team in a brand-new league, the members of the University of Wisconsin-Stout\u2019s flag football team hoisted a championship trophy April 26 on the field at the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 TCO Performance Center.<\/p>\n

The history-making nature of their victory in the Midwest College Women\u2019s Flag Football League Championship was not lost on UW-Stout players or coaches, who grabbed the opportunity to join the Vikings-sponsored league and ran it right into the end zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s something that we\u2019re going to look back on and be in awe that we were part of the first flag football season,\u201d said student assistant coach Rosella Wille. \u201cWe\u2019re going to look back and tell our daughters and granddaughters, \u2018That was us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a joyous ending to the team\u2019s 8-3 season in the new league, which includes six universities from the Upper Midwest. UW-Stout was the sole competitor from Wisconsin, putting the school at the vanguard of a rapidly growing sport as the first four-year university in the state to field an officially sponsored team.<\/p>\n

Few of the 24 women on the Blue Devils squad had previous experience playing organized football, but they demonstrated plenty of athletic talent \u2013 not surprising, considering most have taken part in other varsity or club sports teams on campus.<\/p>\n

The team was quarterbacked by senior Allison Letcher, also a member of the women\u2019s basketball team, which reached the NCAA Division III Final Four in March just weeks before the first flag football game. Other players came with experience in gymnastics, soccer, softball, golf, rugby and track, but they bonded quicky as they learned football fundamentals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all so much fun \u2013 the energy around it,\u201d said junior running back Anna Odisho, also a member of the varsity soccer team. \u201cIt happened so fast, and everyone was all-in on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery moment leading up to that was memorable,\u201d fellow running back Adalyn Lehman said of the championship game against Augustana University. \u201cThere was so much joy that whole day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blue Devils blaze a trail<\/h3>\n

About a year ago, UW-Stout Athletic Director Duey Naatz became part of a conversation about forming a women\u2019s flag football league that involved other universities in the region as well as both the Vikings and Green Bay Packers. Ultimately, the Vikings committed $140,000 to kick-start the collegiate league, and by the beginning of the academic year UW-Stout was finalizing plans for a team and starting to recruit players on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt worked because of the Vikings\u2019 support and their communication,\u201d said Naatz, Stout\u2019s onetime varsity football coach who returned to the sidelines to lead the flag football team. \u201cWe knew it was a reality, and that we wanted to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While flag football isn\u2019t yet an official NCAA sport, it\u2019s expected to be designated an \u201cemerging sport\u201d for women by the NCAA next year. As such, UW-Stout made the decision to treat flag football as a varsity team, Naatz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to be a leader in providing opportunities in our state, so having it as part of our sports module was important to us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The league \u2013 whose other founding members are Augustana, Concordia College Moorhead, Gustavus Adolphus College, Bethel University and the University of Northwestern, St. Paul \u2013 was officially announced in March, and practices began soon after.<\/p>\n

Members of UW-Stout\u2019s squad said they joined the team for the chance to play a sport they loved but had rarely \u2013 if ever \u2013 had a chance to play.<\/p>\n

Coach Duey Naatz speaks with players on the sidelines during the inaugural Midwest College Women\u2019s Flag Football League Championship.
\nCoach Duey Naatz, right, speaks with players on the sidelines, including Halle Maki-Waller, center.
\n\u201cI joined rugby because I loved football and it was the closest thing I could get to it, so flag football was a no-brainer for me,\u201d said senior receiver Halle Maki-Waller, a member of the school\u2019s rugby team, a club sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery game was a learning experience, and we were learning the rules alongside the other teams and the coaches and the refs,\u201d Maki-Waller said.<\/p>\n

Lehman, a graduate student who was part of the track and field team during her undergraduate career at University of Minnesota Duluth, hadn\u2019t planned on joining an organized sport at UW-Stout. That changed when she saw a poster advertising the new team. She soon found a strong camaraderie with the other players as they drilled on the game\u2019s fundamentals.<\/p>\n

While in many ways similar to standard football, flag football has certain significant differences \u2013 most notably, tackling is replaced by pulling off one of the flags worn around a player\u2019s waist. Games are 30 minutes long and are played with five players on a side, and the offense must make it to midfield within their first four downs, then reach the end zone within another four plays.<\/p>\n

Lehman credits the experienced coaching staff and the team\u2019s focus on building skills with their early success. \u201cI think it gave us an advantage because we worked on fundamentals first, so then in our first jamboree we did so much better than the other teams,\u201d Lehman said.<\/p>\n

The Blue Devils won the two games they played in their debut jamboree on April 5 in St. Paul, then went 2-2 during a jamboree they hosted on campus at Williams Stadium on April 12.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, they traveled to the Vikings\u2019 state-of-the-art training facility in Eagan, Minnesota, for the league\u2019s double-elimination championship tournament.<\/p>\n

Team bounced back in final game<\/h3>\n

Wille, the student coach, said the team tackled the challenges of a new sport while bonding quickly over the course of a relatively brief season. \u201cThey faced adversity really well. Anything that came their way, they just ran through a wall,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At the final tournament, the Blue Devils were seeded fourth in the six-team field, so they knew they had something to prove. As the day progressed, they beat Augustana, Augsburg, and Concordia College to reach the championship bracket. There they again faced the Augustana Vikings, who had fought their way through the consolation bracket. In the rematch, the Blue Devils fell short on a two-point conversion when going for the win in overtime, losing 41-42 and setting up a final, winner-take-all game.<\/p>\n

With no time to wallow after their narrow loss, UW-Stout returned to the field and persevered in the championship final with a 46-31 win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took effort to get there, but that\u2019s what we wanted,\u201d Odisho said. \u201cNo matter what happened throughout every game that day we were just thinking, \u2018Championship, championship. We\u2019re not losing, we\u2019re not going home, no matter what.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, the team did go home \u2013 but not until they hoisted their trophy and reveled in the landmark moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a wonderful experience to be a part of,\u201d reflected Naatz, who will retire in September after a 35-year career at UW-Stout. \u201cI\u2019m glad I was a part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already, UW-Stout is beginning to field inquiries from would-be student athletes who want to come to Menomonie to play flag football, Naatz said. As the sport continues to grow, he hopes it ultimately becomes an official Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Conference sport, giving the Blue Devils a chance to compete against their Wisconsin peers.<\/p>\n

Until then, he said, \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to be leaders in this area. Once you see them practice and compete, why wouldn\u2019t you provide that opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Written by Tom Giffey<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwstout.edu\/about-us\/news-center\/breaking-gridiron-ground-uw-stout-triumphs-first-ever-womens-flag-football-league-sponsored<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blue Devils finish with 8-3 record, becomes first four-year university in Wisconsin to field a sponsored team   Just a handful of months after being recruited for a brand-new team in a brand-new league, the members of the University of Wisconsin-Stout\u2019s flag football team hoisted a championship trophy April 26 on the field at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[90],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12442","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12442"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}