The D.C. Divas are a football team in the

Women's Football Alliance The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a professional full-contact Women's American football tackle minor league that began play in 2009. It is the largest 11-on-11 football league for women in the world, and the longest running active women's ...

. Based in the

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

, the Divas play their home games at The St. James Sports Complex in Springfield VA. Formerly, the Divas played at Eastern High School in Washington DC; Largo High School in Largo MD; the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex in Landover (where the NFL's

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

' home stadium

FedExField FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 u ...

is located), and at John R. Lewis High School (known at the time as Lee High School) in Springfield VA.

History

2001

The Divas were formed in 2000 as one of the ten charter franchises of the

National Women's Football Association 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 ...

. The Divas were the first women's football team in the nation's capital and were coached by Ezra Cooper. The Divas' first win came on May 13, 2001, with a 10–6 victory at home over the Connecticut Crush. The Divas finished their inaugural season with a 3–4 record, the team's only losing season to date.

2002

The Divas were purchased by Lee Fahringer and Kelly George before their second season. The Divas finished the 2002 season with a 5–3 record, the first of six consecutive winning seasons for the team. A chance at the Divas' first playoff berth came down their final game of the year, but the Divas fell short of the

Baltimore Burn The Baltimore Burn is a Women's American football team that last played in the Women's Spring Football League in 2015. Formerly a member of the National Women's Football Association from 2001 to 2008 and the Women's Football Alliance from 2009 ...

in their season finale, 6–0.

2003

The 2003 season is considered by many to be the birth of the Divas' dynasty. Finishing the regular-season 7–1, the team clinched their first of five consecutive playoff berths and division titles. After defeating the Connecticut Crush in their first ever playoff game, the Divas fell to the Philadelphia Phoenix in the conference semifinals. The Divas' Donna Wilkinson became the first running back in women's football history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season, totaling 1,267 rushing yards in 2003. That year, the Divas were featured on

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature st ...

2004

Winning their second consecutive division title by finishing 8–0, the Divas clinched home-field advantage throughout the Northern Conference playoffs. After defeating the Southwest Michigan Jaguars in the conference semifinals, the Divas lost to the eventual NWFA champions, the

Detroit Demolition The Detroit Demolition was a women's American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. During their most recent season, home games were played at Franklin High School in Livonia. They joined the National Women's Football Associatio ...

, in the Northern Conference championship game, 20–14. Following the season, the Divas played in a charity game against a men's team assembled by

The Sports Junkies The Sports Junkies, also known as The Junkies, are the hosts of an eponymous morning drive time radio show aired in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The hosts are John Auville, Eric Bickel, Jason Bishop, and John-Paul Flaim. Their s ...

, who host a local syndicated sports radio show. Although the Divas lost, 28–6, the contest set a new record for the highest attendance at a women's football game, as 8,200 fans came to the event. Later that offseason, the Divas had a second ownership change when Paul Hamlin, father of Divas' quarterback Allyson Hamlin, bought the team.

2005

For the second consecutive season, the Divas finished the regular season with a perfect 8–0 record. For the second straight year, however, they were handed their first defeat of the season in the Northern Conference championship game by eventual NWFA champion

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. After that season, the Divas moved from Eastern High School in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to the new Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex in nearby

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...

, and a new uniform design was also unveiled. These changes set the stage for the biggest moment in the franchise's history.

2006

As was the case the past two seasons, the Divas finished 2006 with a perfect 8-0 regular season record and advanced to the conference championship game. Unlike '04 and '05, however, the Divas won the conference championship, defeating the

Columbus Comets The Columbus Comets are a women's professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. They play in the Women's Football Alliance. The Comets played in the National Women's Football Association from their inception in 2003 until 2008 ( ...

and advancing their first ever league championship game. The Divas traveled to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

to take on the

Oklahoma City Lightning The Oklahoma City Lightning is a full-contact women's American football team in the Women's Spring Football League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Home games are played at Taft Stadium. Formerly a member of the Independent Women's Football Leag ...

for the 2006 NWFA national championship. The Divas capped an 11–0 season with a 28–7 victory over the Lightning for the team's first league championship. Running back Rachelle Pecovsky and linebacker Ivy Tillman received the game's MVP honors on offense and defense, respectively.

2007

Before the 2007 season, the Divas left the NWFA to join the

Independent Women's Football League The Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) was the first Women's American football league established by women players for women players. The league was founded in 2000, began play in 2001, and played its last season in 2018. Members of th ...

. The Divas were just as successful in this new league, however, finishing with an 8-0 regular season record for the fourth straight year and capturing the Mid-Atlantic Division title. However, their playoff run ended abruptly when the Divas lost in the conference semifinal round to the eventual Eastern Conference champion

Atlanta Xplosion The Atlanta Xplosion, known as the Atlanta Ravens for the year of 2011, was a football team in the Independent Women's Football League. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Xplosion played their home games in nearby Smyrna, Georgia at Campbell High Sch ...

2008

2008 was a disappointing year for the Divas. The season began with a loss to the Boston Militia, 27–22, which snapped the Divas' 32-game regular season winning streak. That was a sign of things to come, as the Divas lost four games in 2008, each by six points or less. They finished the year with a 4–4 record, their worst since 2001. Because of that record, the Divas failed to win their division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

2009

Rebounding from the 2008 season, the Divas returned to their winning ways in 2009. The Divas compiled a perfect 8-0 regular season record for the fifth time and claimed the Mid-Atlantic division title. The Divas had home field advantage throughout the playoffs, but because of a scheduling conflict at their home field, they had to travel to Boston to play the Militia in the 2009 IWFL Eastern Conference championship game. In a thrilling game, the Divas defeated the Militia, 27–21, giving the franchise just their second conference championship (and their first in the IWFL). On July 25, the Divas went to Round Rock, Texas, a suburb of Austin, to play for the 2009 IWFL World Championship. The Western Conference champion

Kansas City Tribe The Kansas City Tribe is a football team in the Women's Football Alliance based in Kansas City, Missouri. Home games are played at Center High School. History 2008 Founded by Colin Stoner, John Van Sittert, and Mindy White, the Tribe began as ...

pulled a 21–18 upset and handed the Divas their first loss of the season, taking home the IWFL championship in the process.

2010

2010 was another successful season for the Divas. Despite finishing the regular season at 5-3 (two games behind the 7-1 Atlanta Xplosion), a stronger overall schedule gave the Divas the division crown, their seventh in team history. The Divas then justified their place in the division in the conference semifinals, defeating the Xplosion, 35–7, and getting some revenge for the playoff loss in 2007. However, it was the Militia who got revenge in the 2010 Eastern Conference championship game, avenging the previous season's defeat by eliminating the Divas; the Militia went on to win the 2010 IWFL national championship. That season, the Divas were featured on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

as part of a team profile. Also that season, former Diva wide receiver

Natalie Randolph Natalie Randolph is the Director of Equity, Justice & Community at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC and former high school football coach. She served as the head football coach at Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C. from 2010 to ...

made national headlines as one of the first female head coaches of a high school football team.

2011

Along with many of their archrivals, the D.C. Divas moved from the IWFL to the

for the 2011 season. In their first year in the new league, the Divas didn't slow down, easily winning the Northeast Division with a 7–1 record. However, for the second year in a row, the eventual league champion Boston Militia ended the Divas' season by knocking them out of the playoffs. After the season, the Divas made a change, hiring Alison Fischer as their new head coach. Fischer played on the Divas' first team in 2001 and became one of the few female head coaches in women's pro football.

2012

In a situation similar to 2010, the Divas, with a 5–3 record, claimed a division title over 7-1 Pittsburgh thanks to a stronger strength of schedule. Once again, the Divas proved that was the correct decision by defeating Pittsburgh in the playoffs and advancing to the conference semifinals. For the fourth straight year, the Divas clashed with the Boston Militia in the playoffs, and for the third straight time, the Militia came out on top, this time by a 55–34 score. But this time emotions spilled over, and the game ended in a bench-clearing brawl which attracted negative media attention and resulted in several suspensions by the league against Divas players.

2013

For the third time in four seasons, the Divas finished the regular season with a 5–3 record. The Divas also won their tenth division title, which tied the record for the most division championships all-time in women's football by a single franchise. The D.C. Divas advanced to the conference semifinals, where they were eliminated for the fourth consecutive season by the Boston Militia.

2014

The D.C. Divas began their 14th season of play on April 5, 2014.

2015

The D.C. Divas were undefeated in the regular season, post-season, and beat the

Dallas Elite The Dallas Elite Women's Football team is an American women's tackle football team playing in Division I of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). The team, based in and around Dallas, Texas, was founded in 2014. The Dallas Elite reached the playo ...

for the national championship. Quarterback Allyson Hamlin threw her 200th touchdown and crossed the 13,000 yards passing mark for her career.

Season-by-season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , D.C. Divas (NWFA) , - , 2001 , , 3 , , 4 , , 0 , , 3rd Northern , , -- , - , 2002 , , 6 , , 3 , , 0 , , 2nd Mid-Atlantic , , -- , - , 2003 , , 7 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st Northern Mid-Atlantic , , Won Eastern Conference Quarterfinal (

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

)
Lost Eastern Conference Semifinal (

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

) , - , 2004 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Northern Mid-Atlantic , , Won Northern Conference Semifinal ( SW Michigan)
Lost Northern Conference Championship (

) , - , 2005 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Northern Mid-Atlantic , , Won Northern Conference Semifinal (

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

)
Lost Northern Conference Championship (

) , - , 2006 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Eastern Mid-Atlantic , , Won Eastern Conference Semifinal ( Chattanooga)
Won Eastern Conference Championship (

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

)
Won NWFA National Championship (

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , D.C. Divas (IWFL) , - , 2007 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Eastern Mid-Atlantic , , Lost Eastern Conference Semifinal (

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

) , - , 2008 , , 4 , , 4 , , 0 , , 4th Tier I Eastern North Atlantic , , -- , - , 2009 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Tier I Easernt Mid-Atlantic , , Won Eastern Conference Semifinal (

)
Won Eastern Conference Championship (

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

)
Lost IWFL Tier I World Championship ( Kansas City) , - , 2010 , , 5 , , 3 , , 0 , , 1st Tier I East Southeast , , Won Southeast Division Championship (

)
Lost Eastern Conference Championship (

) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , D.C. Divas (WFA) , - , 2011 , , 7 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st National Northeast , , Lost National Conference Quarterfinal (

) , - , 2012 , , 5 , , 3 , , 0 , , 1st National Mid-Atlantic , , Won National Conference Quarterfinal (

)
Lost National Conference Semifinal (

) , - , 2013 , , 5 , , 3 , , 0 , , 1st National Mid-Atlantic , , Won National Conference Quarterfinal (

)
Lost National Conference Semifinal (

) , - , 2014 , , 5 , , 4 , , 0 , , 1st National Mid-Atlantic , , Won National Conference Quarterfinal (

)
Lost National Conference Semifinal (

) , - , 2015 , , 12 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st National Mid-Atlantic , , Won National Conference Quarterfinal (

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

)
Won National Conference Semifinal (

)
Won National Conference Championship (

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

)
Won WFA National Championship (

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

) , - , 2016 , , 10 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st National , , Won National Conference Semifinal (

)
Won National Conference Championship (

)
Won WFA National Championship (

) , - !Totals , , 120 , , 36 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs)

2015 roster

Season schedules and standings

2009

2010

** Won by forfeit as a result of the IWFL's season reduction for the Firebirds

2011

2012

References

External links

D.C. Divas
{{Maryland Sports Women's Football Alliance teams Prince George's County, Maryland American football teams in Washington, D.C. American football teams in Maryland American football teams established in 2000 2000 establishments in Washington, D.C.