South Dakota will have representation in the Women’s Football Alliance this spring by fielding a professional women’s football team – the South Dakota Pheasants. They’ll call Sioux Falls home, and for those who don’t know about the WFA, there aren’t any gimmicks to this style of football – it’s as real as it gets.
“These ladies will not be the lingerie team like you’ve heard of before,” explained Pheasants Vice President Brian Finch. “These ladies are legitimately the NFL for women. They’re full contact, full pads, a hundred-yard field, legit football.”
Katie Sowers, who is currently in her third season as an offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers, played eight years of professional football in the WPA.
It’s 11 on 11 football, which operates under the umbrella of college football rules.
The WFA is separated into three divisions, one, two, and three. Much like college, your division one will have the more elite level of talent and programs, while division three is more of a starting point.
“So, officially out in California, they have over 60 people on their roster, so they’re up in the higher divisions. The St. Louis Slam, they’re in division one. They have about 75 people on their roster,” Cheyenne Ackman, Pheasants President/Owner said. “Division three is kind of where you start. And then as you grow and after you’ve been established for a few years, you start to grow and you can move up.”
South Dakota will start in division three with aspirations of moving up from there. The minimum roster size is 30, but the hope is larger numbers than that in the inaugural season for the Pheasants. Along with being the team President and Owner, Cheyenne Ackman is also a player.
“I would like to go out on the field knowing that if someone were to get hurt, we have that back up that we need. There are some teams that don’t have that,” Ackman stated. “I want to make sure that our team is well-rostered to where a player can come out for a drink of water and such, but in that first year, it’s kind of getting your feet wet, and it might take this year to get to that plus 30 number.”
The Pheasants will hold open try-outs to anyone who wants the opportunity on Thursday January 7th at the MariCar Community Center attached to Hawyard Elementary School in Sioux Falls.
Regulation games will start in April as the WFA season stretches from the spring to early summer months. As it sits currently, South Dakota’s newest women’s football team has had conversations with Howard Wood Field, Augustana University, the University of Sioux Falls, and Roosevelt high school to be the home for Pheasants football in 2021.
For more information, visit the South Dakota Pheasants Facebook page by clicking here.
