Dallas Diamonds

Dallas Diamonds
Founded	2002
League	WPFL (2002-2007) IWFL (2008-2010) WFA (2011-present)
Team history	Dallas Diamonds (2002-present)
Stadium	Pennington Field
Based in	Bedford, Texas
Team colors	Black, purple, silver
Owner	Dawn Berndt
Head coach	Patrick Hughes
Championships	4 (WPFL: 2004, 2005, 2006) (IWFL: 2008)
Division titles	6 (WPFL: 2004, 2005, 2006) (IWFL: 2008, 2009, 2010)

The Dallas Diamonds are a women's professional American football team in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). It is made up of 46 players ^[1] and has a coaching staff of 10 ^[2]. The Diamonds have four national championships; the first three were all obtained during their membership in the Women's Professional Football League (WPFL) which was dissolved in 2008, and the fourth was in their first season in the Independent Women's Football League.

The Diamonds franchise started in 2002 by owner Dawn Berndt. During the inaugural season, the Diamonds finished with a 5-5 record. The following season, the Diamonds improved to 8-2 and entered the playoffs as a wild card team. They lost on their home field, Birdville Fine Arts Complex to the Florida Stingrays who moved on to lose in the championship game.

In 2004, the Diamonds recruited a solid rookie class and moved through the season undefeated. The Diamonds marched through the playoffs defeating the Houston Energy, SoCal Scorpions and eventually Northern Ice for their first title.

In 2005, the Diamonds continued the winning streak and finished the season undefeated. In the playoffs, they defeated the Houston Energy, SoCal Scorpions and New York Dazzles for their second title.

In 2006, the winning continued until the Diamonds broke the WPFL record with 33 straight wins. The loss came to the rival Houston Energy in Houston, TX. The league reorganized in 2006 and separated these two power house teams into different conferences. This provided what had been the two best teams statistically with an opportunity to face in the championship game. Both teams reached the Championship and fought back and forth with multiple lead changes until the Diamonds pulled ahead 34-27 early in the 4th quarter and never relinquished the lead.

In 2007, injuries and retirement plagued the franchise. In their first regular season without a playoff berth, management took a different approach. Offering her players an opportunity to play in a new league, several players came out of retirement to join the IWFL in 2008. Playing the Chicago Force in Chicago, the Diamonds won the 2008 IWFL Championship. The Diamonds currently play at Pennington Field in Bedford, Texas and have the most active message board in women's football at www.dallasdiamondsfootball.com.

In 2009, the Diamonds finished another regular season undefeated, winning the South Atlantic Division title. However, another IWFL title was not in the cards, as they lost the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Boston Militia, 34-14.

In 2010, the Diamonds won another division title, this time finishing first in the Midwest Division at 7-1. Though they defeated the Chicago Force 27-20 in the Western Conference Semifinals, they would lose to the Sacramento Sirens 45-43 in the conference title game.

For the 2011 season and beyond, the Diamonds will play in the Women's Football Alliance.

Notable players

Jessica Springer

Jessica Springer is the Diamond's starting running back and linebacker. In 2004, she was the WPFL Howington Award Winner which is awarded to the league MVP. She runs a 4.88 40-yd dash and holds powerlifting records in both the bench press and dead lift in her weight category. She retired briefly during 2007 and returned for the last half of the season. The Diamonds did not make it into the playoffs in 2007 and Springer returned in her best form for 2008. She led the league in TDs and averaged over 11 yards per carry. During the championship game, she was the heart and soul of the team. She had an interception and every TD the Diamonds scored on offense came on the ground in Springer's hands. She carried the ball 9 times in OT and scored up the middle from 11 yards out to secure the Diamonds 4th ring in 5 years.

Karen Seimears

Karen Seimears is the Diamond's starting quarterback. During the 2007 season, Seimears walked the sidelines as the offensive coach. She returned to the field for the 2008 season and led the Diamonds to their 4th title in 5 seasons.

Championships

2004

The Diamonds took on the Northern Ice in WPFL Championship Game VI. This took place in Long Beach, California on November 20, 2004. The final score was Dallas Diamonds 62, Northern Ice 13. The MVP was Q Ragsdale, running back for Dallas^[3].

2005

The Diamonds played the New York Dazzles in WPFL Championship Game VII. This took place at the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletic Complex in North Richland Hills, Texas on November 19, 2005. The final score was 61-8, Diamonds.^[4]

2006

The Diamonds played the Houston Energy in WPFL Championship Game VIII, which took place in Roswell, Georgia on November 4. 2006. The final score was 34-27, Diamonds^[5]

2008

The Diamonds played the Chicago Force in IWFL Championship Game, which took place in Chicago, Illinois on July 25, 2008. The Diamonds won in overtime 35-29. Jessica Springer was the game MVP and announced her retirement after the game. Coach Todd Hughes also announced his retirement.

Season-By-Season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
Dallas Diamonds (WPFL)
2002	5	5	0	3rd American West	--
2003	8	2	0	2nd American West	Lost Divisional Playoffs (Florida)
2004	10	0	0	1st American West	Won Divisional Playoffs (Houston) Won American Conference Championship (SoCal) Won WPFL Championship (Northern)
2005	10	0	0	1st American West	Won Divisional Playoffs (Houston) Won American Conference Championship (SoCal) Won WPFL Championship (New York)
2006	7	1	0	1st American West	Won American Conference Championship (SoCal) Won WPFL Championship (Houston)
2007	5	3	0	3rd American West	--
Dallas Diamonds (IWFL)
2008	8	0	0	1st Tier I West MidSouth	Won Western Conference Semifinal (California) Won Western Conference Championship (Seattle) Won IWFL Tier I Championship (Chicago)
2009	8	0	0	1st Tier I East South Atlantic	Lost Eastern Conference Semifinal (Boston)
2010	7	1	0	1st Tier I West Midwest	Won Midwest Division Championship (Chicago) Lost Western Conference Championship (Sacramento)
Dallas Diamonds (WFA)
2011	--	--	--	--	--
Totals	80	15	0	(including playoffs)

Season schedules

2009

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
April 11	Houston Energy	Home	Won 69-0
April 18	Louisiana Fuel	Away	Won 27-0
April 25	Shreveport Aftershock	Home	Won 59-0
May 2	Atlanta Xplosion	Away	Won 32-7
May 16	Louisiana Fuel	Home	Won 64-0
May 30	Miami Fury	Home	Won 41-8
June 6	Houston Energy	Away	Won 61-20
June 13	Houston Energy	Home	Won 76-7
June 27	Boston Militia (Eastern Conference Semifinal)	Away	Lost 14-34

2010

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
April 3	Houston Energy	Home	Won 34-12
April 10	Kansas City Tribe	Away	Lost 21-28
April 24	Minnesota Vixen	Home	Won 79-0
May 1	Memphis Belles	Away	Won 49-6
May 8	Atlanta Xplosion	Home	Won 23-3
May 15	H-Town Texas Cyclones	Away	Won 2-0*
May 22	Kansas City Tribe	Home	Won 35-21
June 5	Houston Energy	Away	Won 44-36
June 12	Chicago Force	Home	Won 27-20
July 10	Sacramento Sirens	Away	Lost 43-45

** = Won by forfeit

Coaching staff

Todd Haistens 2003-2004 Head Coach WPFL Championship 2004 Record 20-3 Todd Hughes 2003-2004 Offensive Coordinator, Head Coach 2005-2008 WPFL Championship 2005-2006 ,IWFL Championship 2008 Record 37-4 Pat Hughes Rec Coach 2004- Defensive Coordinator 2005-2008 Mikal Black 2004 Defensive Line Coach, 2005-2008 Assistant Head Coach

Media

During the season, the Diamonds host a weekly talk-show formatted webcast. ^[6] It is produced by BISD TV (Comcast channel 30 in Dallas/Fort Worth). The games are also often broadcast on Ustream.tv ^[7] by BISD TV.

References

1. ^ "Dallas Diamonds 2008 roster". dallasdiamondsfootball.com. http://www.dallasdiamondsfootball.com/roster.php. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
2. ^ "Dallas Diamonds coach list". dallasdiamondsfootball.com. http://www.dallasdiamondsfootball.com/coaches.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
3. ^ "WPFL Championship Game VI". womensprofootball.com. http://womensprofootball.com/champions_VI.php. Retrieved 2008-05-29. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "WPFL Championship Game VII". womensprofootball.com. http://womensprofootball.com/champions_VII.php. Retrieved 2008-05-29. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ."WPFL Championship Game VIII". http://womensprofootball.com/champions_VIII.php. Retrieved 2008-05-29. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Hughes ep. 2". ustream.tv. http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/Brutp,EZbqC,9f4StK.9TopJ178WRS8Z. Retrieved 2008-05-29. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "DallasDiamonds's Profile Page". ustream.tv. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20080513215739/http://www.ustream.tv/DallasDiamonds. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 

External links

• Dallas Diamonds website
• Dallas Diamonds' Forum