ALABAMA RENEGADES
The Renegades were one of the founding teams of the National Women’s Football Association (NWFA). The Renegades and the Nashville Dream played a six game exhibition season to determine the viability of a women’s full-contact football league. The exhibition games were a huge success and the league expanded to 12 teams in its first full season of play in the spring of 2001. Ray Quinn was the man who first brought full-contact football to Huntsville and he owned the team for two years. Nancy Byrd, a Renegade player kept the football dream alive in 2003 when she took over the team from Quinn. She along with general manager Lori Campbell ran the team for the next six years. Nancy continued to play for the Renegades while owning the team. At the end of her sixth season as owner of the Renegades, Nancy decided to retire from playing football and looked to sell the team. The NWFA stopped operations that same year.
TENNESSEE VALLEY TIGERS
Carlos Mathews, the former offensive coordinator of the Renegades realized the potential for women’s football in Huntsville and decided to explore ways to bring the game back. After researching several leagues Mathews found one with the stability needed to support football in the Huntsville area. The Tigers officially joined the Independent Women’s Football League on August 12, 2008 as a tier II team. In the 1st season of play the Tigers had a 5-3 record. At the end of the 2011 season Mathews no longer owned a team in the IWFL.
