Utah Girls Football League


The Utah Girls Football League is a nonprofit youth American football league. Founded in March 2015, the league is currently in its season. It is the first all-girls tackle football league in the United States. The league is continuously growing. As of its 2018 season, GFL consists of six districts or teams, and each district has three divisions, a 5th/6th grade division, a 7th/8th grade division, and a High School division. As of 2019, the league has 446 girls, ranging from fourth grade to twelfth grade, on 24 teams; 35% of the girls are minorities.
The league is currently run by a board of directors, overseen by the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the league. Everyone in the league is a volunteer.
Sam Gordon, female football player, known for her abilities as a football player that gained her acclaim playing with the boys when she was nine years old, helped found the league in 2015. She has played in it each season since.

Media coverage

The Utah Girls Football League gained national acclaim when it started in 2015. It has seen nationwide news coverage. The league has received both praise and criticism. While most news organizations have simply reported on it being the first of its kind, others, such as Bleacher Report and espnW, have reported on Sam Gordon's role in the league. Some media companies have even taken a specific stance on the league. ESPN, for example, aired a segment in which the safety of the league was called into question. In the segment, they brought on a medical doctor who said that there is heightened risk of concussions for children and perhaps even further risk for girls. Others, however, have pushed praise onto the league, encouraging their audience to sign up.
In June 2017 Sam Gordon and her father, alongside five other Utah Girls Football League players, filed a class action lawsuit against three local school districts to force high schools to offer girls’ football in the Salt Lake Valley. It uses Title IX as justification. The lawsuit is ongoing and has received national coverage.

Districts

GFL is split into 6 districts based on the local cities and schools, each one containing three teams of different age divisions.
The Utah Girls Football League is a 501 nonprofit organization and is run by a board of directors. The league's board of directors is responsible for electing a Commissioner. The current president of the league is Crystal Sacco. According to the rules of the Utah Girls Football League, the president is "responsible for coordinating and running meetings, maintaining league records, initiating the scheduling process, revising and distributing league rules, monitoring the registration process, and acting as the final arbiter of any disputes that might arise."
Any formal propositions to change any league methods, procedures, systems or other major decisions are affirmed by a greater part vote of the Board of Directors present at the meeting at which the vote is taken. If necessary, the Commissioner of the league will vote to break the tie. The GFL only employees volunteers who do not receive pay for their work/contributions to the league, the exception to this being the official game referees. In addition to the board of directors, Utah Girls Football League also employees a Deputy Commissioner, Treasurer, Safety Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, Web Developer, Coaching Coordinator, and League Secretary. Coaches for the league are volunteer and must be USA Football Heads Up Certified.