"Women’s Professional Football
The Pittsburgh Passion: A Grassroots Approach
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By Garrett S. Titlebaum, Dr. Peter J. Titlebaum and Dr Corinne M. Daprano - USA
Garret S. Titlebaum is a junior at the University of Dayton majoring in Sport Management |
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The history of women in sport has been marked by a lack of participation opportunities that initially rendered women invisible in the sport arena. Contested when women wanted to play sport because of the supposed medical evidence that argued women would do damage to their reproductive organs if permitted to compete. Constrained when women were finally permitted to compete in elite competitions because some activities like the marathon and 800 meter event were considered too strenuous for women. And, finally triumphant with the advent of Title IX (1972) in the United States which has opened the door to a whole new generation of women in sport who are not likely to be invisible nor constrained.
One example of this expanded opportunity to compete in sport has been in the area of women's professional sport. Although women's professional golf and tennis have enjoyed relative success for a number of years in the global sport industry professional leagues for women have not succeeded. One notable and current exception is the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), which is entering its 12 th season. In addition, a women's professional soccer league that will attract the best women's soccer players from around the globe is expected to launch in the U.S. in the spring of 2009. Against the backdrop of these ventures stands another sport and women's professional league that has struggled for media attention, fan support, and credibility.
The National Women's Football Association is the largest women's full-contact football league in the world, with 40 teams in the United States. The NWFA has continued to grow and expand rapidly since the league was founded in 2000. Yet, even the Pittsburgh Passion, one of the most successful women's professional football teams in the U.S., has struggled to gain acceptance and attention. The purpose of this paper is to describe the Passion's grassroots approach to gaining acceptance and attention from fans, the media, and sponsors. |
Catherine Masters formed the National Women's Football Association (NWFA) in August of 2000. Before founding the NWFA, Masters worked in sports and entertainment for over 25 years, including work for top sporting goods manufacturers and Fortune 500 companies, and she has promoted and planned many events, including the Sporting Good Manufacturers Association's The Super Show and the Palm Beach Classic Tennis Challenge. She believes that women deserve the right to play football in a well organized, professionally run league. Starting with two teams, the Nashville Dream and the Alabama Renegades, the NWFA was off and running for a six-game exhibition season that ran from October to December 2000.
The league headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee and the league has experienced continued growth over the past few years. The league is broken into two conferences-Southern and Northern. Over the past two seasons, the league has added teams in new markets, including: Dayton, OH, Houston, TX, Indianapolis, IN., Los Angeles, CA., Wayne, NJ, Modesto, CA. During their first year, these teams will play a four-to-six-game exhibition schedule, in order to allow the players and coaches to get acquainted with the league and to allow time to raise local funds and interest. |
Since women's full-contact football is so new, there are not many players who have experience playing it. Each team holds a series of open tryouts in the fall and/or winter. Most of the players in women's football have some athletic background, usually through basketball, rugby, soccer, softball, lacrosse, or volleyball.
There is a minimum age requirement that states a player must be at least 18 years old to play on most women's professional football teams. While there is no maximum age, some women play into their 50s. Those trying out must have proof of insurance and provide a one-time $35 tryout fee. During the tryouts, participants compete in many football drills, including four corner drills, weight lifting, sit-ups, 40-yard dash, push-ups, and shuttle runs, as well as an interview to measure their desire and reason for coming to the tryout.
Although the women of these football teams are referred to as professional athletes, they have to pay to play. Leagues hope to one day be able to pay players but are currently unable to do so. The cost to play varies around the leagues but is typically between $200 and $600 per player. This money goes toward the purchase of a jersey and equipment, as well as travel expenses for the team, which are kept as low as possible. Since the leagues are entirely volunteer-based, many of the players participate while working full- or part-time jobs. Teams are filled with teachers, accountants, mothers, and coaches. Practices are usually held at night to accommodate work schedules and travel time, since many of the players have to drive up to an hour to get to training facilities.
In order to cover the cost of playing, many teams offer sponsorship programs, where players get local businesses or family and friends to help defray the costs. In exchange for their support, most teams will designate an area in their game-day programs and/or on their website to show what companies sponsor which players. |
| 4. Pittsburgh Passion Team History. |
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Since their inception in 2002, the Pittsburgh Passion has been one of the most successful teams in the league. After their 2002 exhibition season, the Passion prepared for a first full season in the NWFA. In 2003, Head Coach Larry Camerota led the Passion to a 2-6 record but did so in a surprisingly competitive fashion, having four of those losses come by seven points or less. In their first season, the Passion brought in between 2,500-3,000 fans to see this new brand of football in their venue at Belle Vernon Area High School.
For their 2004 season, the Passion moved to the larger Moe Rubenstein Stadium at Ambridge High School, where they had crowds of nearly 4,000 fans each game. Lou Rood took over for Coach Camerota and was able to turn the team around, going 6-2 and just missing the playoffs and the Northern Conference Wild Card spot.
The 2005 Passion had possibly the most difficult season in team history. The team ended up with a 5-3 record. Two of those losses came at the hands of the D.C. Divas and the Detroit Demolition, the two teams that would eventually play in the North Conference Title Game, and the other coming in a one-point, overtime loss to division rival, Cleveland Fusion. Once again, the Passion would miss the playoffs after another winning season, but they were named the 2005 Team of the Year by the NWFA. They received this award based on their presence in the community and because of the camaraderie that is apparent to anyone who sees this team on and off the field.
For the 2006 season, the Passion moved to George Cupples Stadium, located in the city that they call home. As they prepared for their home opener, they had a special guest for their fans Franco Harris. Super Bowl IX MVP and Pittsburgh Steeler Hall of Famer, was on hand to toss the coin. In their new city dwelling, the Passion finished their Season 5-3. The Passion were in the playoff hunt going into the final weeks of the season but were kept out based on tiebreakers.
The Passion agreed to terms with new head coach, Ron Coder, for the 2007 campaign. Coder has a long list of football credentials on his resume. He is a Penn State Nittany Lion football alumnus, who played three years for the Seattle Seahawks before eventually moving to the United States Football League where he was a part of two championship seasons with the Philadelphia Stars.
The 2007 season was a great success for the Passion as they finished the regular season 8-0, making the playoffs for the first time in team history. The Passion went on to win all four of their playoff games, beating the Columbus Comets by a score of 32-0 in the National Championship game, held in Nashville, TN.
Upon completion of the season, the Passion made the decision to leave the NWFA for the Independent Woman's Football League. The Passion is not the first team to move over to the IWFL. Two other teams bowed out of the NWFA after becoming champions, the Detroit Demolition and D.C. Divas. Also, three-time Women's Professional Football League champions, the Dallas Diamonds, have moved to the IWFL for the 2008 season, as well.
Why are so many of these competitive franchises moving over to the IWFL? Team owner, Teresa Conn, explained that they moved to the IWFL because it created a more attractive conference for them to play in due to the teams in the league. One of the biggest differences is the cost for each franchise, only $3,000 to $4,000 per year, compared to the $20,000 to $35,000 the NWFA charges. The financial issue plays a role, but another reason teams may be switching is the less autocratic system of decision making exercised by the IWFL, allowing team owners to play a role in decision making. |
5. Pittsburgh Passion Marketing Strategy |
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There are several tiers to the marketing strategy implemented in Pittsburgh, which is one of the most successful teams in women's professional football when it comes to putting fans in the stands. The Passion received the Top Attendance Award in 2006.
One of the easiest ways to garner attention is to post flyers in as many locations as possible. Since the Passion had just moved to Cupples Stadium in the South Side, a Pittsburgh shopping district, one of the biggest jobs the intern staff had was to distribute flyers in the area. Finding businesses that were willing to display a flyer in their window or on a bulletin board, or place a stack in their community information area, was not a difficult task. Approximately one week before a home game, interns would split up East Carson Street, the most prominent street in the South Side, and distribute flyers to all of the local businesses. Many of these businesses have since become sponsors of the team.
Another successful marketing strategy has been group ticket sales. At each of the four home games, the Passion was able to highlight a local charity or organization. The four featured charities from the 2006 season were, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Team Pittsburgh, Boys and Girls Club of Pittsburgh, and the Humane Society. These groups typically had some members come onto the field for the coin toss or to sing the National Anthem. These groups would also have a certain number of tickets at a discounted rate, access to a luxury suite, and a booth from which to distribute literature about their organization. Schools and youth groups are an additional source of support for the team. Convincing coaches of high school and youth teams has not proven difficult. It is easy to show these youth leaders why it is important to support top female athletes in their hometowns.
Now that the Pittsburgh Passion has moved to the South Side and is no longer in the suburbs, they can also advertise to the public through bar appearances. East Carson Street is a hotbed for college activity, with apartments and houses inhabited by students from Duquesne University, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Robert Morris University, or any of the city of Pittsburgh's 11 institutes of higher learning. With all of these people in the area directly surrounding the stadium, the Passion has sought sponsorships from many of the bars and nightclubs that are popular with the college students. The team will go to these bars and spend an evening as guest bartenders, as a chance to promote the team and oftentimes to receive some compensation.
If the team hopes to have a sponsor renew, they must make sure to revisit them throughout the season. Interns with the Passion created a thank-you package that was distributed to many of the sponsors. This package included two complimentary tickets, a game day program, a personal letter from team owner Teresa Conn, and a Passion t-shirt. |
It is not the easiest task to get consistent media coverage of a niche sporting event. What has proven to be the most fruitful way to garner media attention is to issue press releases to the smaller newspapers in surrounding communities. However, on occasion, major media outlets have done features on the NWFA and the Passion. CBS Evening News, Nickelodeon, and Spike TV have all aired stories on the league. In addition, the 2004 Championship game was available on iNDEMAND pay-per-view. Also, over the past year, the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal have all run feature stories on women's football.
One of the facts utilized by the Passion is that 93% of fans are Internet users. Because of this, an e-mail list of fans was compiled in hopes of utilizing this market. Now with this list, the team can send out e-mails to promote upcoming events and games. Another way the team utilizes the Internet is by posting game information on their website and on community-themed sites, like craigslist.com. |
Although the NWFA is the largest, there are two other women's football leagues vying for attention. The Women's Professional Football League (WPFL) was formed in 1999 making it the oldest of the leagues. However the WPFL is the smallest as well, containing only 13 teams. The WPFL season runs from July to November. The Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) has been in existence since 2000, and 24 teams are members of the organization. Their season runs concurrently with the NWFA, from April through July. The league is broken into a Western and Eastern conference. Over saturation of the market is one of the biggest challenges currently facing women's football. Many teams move from league to league in hopes of better competition or an overall more enjoyable experience, making it more and more difficult for fans to support a league.
There are many things that have been happening in the world of women's football that will affect the NWFA and their upcoming season. Perhaps the largest news is that the NWFA finally has a television deal. CoLours TV, channel 9407 on the Dish Network, has agreed to broadcast games during the 2007 season, including the post season as well as the Gender Bowl. Gender Bowl is a reality TV show that pits the women of the NWFA against men over 30 who want to relive the glory days of high school football. The promo was filmed in 2005 at Los Angeles' famed Coliseum, home of the University of Southern California Trojans.
In equipment needs, the NWFA now has two new sponsors for the league, Phenom Factory and Brain-Pad. Phenom Factory is the maker of a compression suit that will eliminate the need to wear padding under the already-bulky shoulder pads. These compression suits have built in thigh, knee, rear, and abdominal padding. Brain-Pad is now the official mouth guard of the NWFA. With their new technology, brain-pads allow for players to breathe easier while leaving their mouth guards in, reducing the risk of concussion. |
Women's Professional Football may not be getting all of the press or airtime that it deserves currently, but things appear to be quickly headed upward for this “niche market” sport. In years past, women's leagues in other sports have had to shut down, due to lack of interest or fan support, but women's football continues to be profitable. Hopefully, time will look favorably on this era in women's football.
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Are you ready for some (women's) football? (2007) Retrieved February 14, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16893758/
Pittsburgh Passion (2008) Retrieved February 14, 2008, from
http://www.pittsburghpassion.com/
The Gender Bowl(2008) Retrieved February 14, 2008, from http://www.genderbowl.com/main.php
The Independent Women's Football League Retrieved February 14, 2008, from http://www.iwflsports.com/
The National Football Association (2008) Retrieved February 14, 2008, from http://www.womensfootballcentral.com/
Women's Professional Football League (2008) Retrieved February 14, 2008, from http://www.womensprofootball.com/ |
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