About the Midwest Sprint Football League

The Midwest Sprint Football League (MSFL) was announced in the Summer of 2021 and played its inaugural season in the Fall of 2022. 

The MSFL charter members in this new conference include Quincy University (Illinois), Fontbonne University (Missouri), Calumet College of St. Joseph (Indiana), St. Mary-of-the-Woods College (Indiana), Bellarmine University (Kentucky), and Midway University (Kentucky). With league play set to begin in Fall 2022, each institution began actively recruiting players over the next year to prepare for kick-off on Saturday, September 17th.

On July 19th, 2022, Oakland City University (Indiana) announced the addition of a sprint football program to their department, and on October 19th, 2022 Walsh University (Ohio) also announced the addition of sprint football with plans to join the 2023-24 MSFL season. 

Launching the first major sprint football league in nearly 100 years was initiated by Nancy Blattner, President of Fontbonne University. Formerly the president of Caldwell University, a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL), Blattner initiated the conversation with a group of college and university presidents, ultimately leading to the formation of the new MSFL. Because of Blattner's experience with the program, she serves as the founding chair of the Board of Governors for the MSFL. Fontbonne Vice President for Athletics, Maria Buckel, served as the founding MSFL Commissioner for the first two seasons. On Janurary 2nd, 2024, the MSFL announced the league's second Commissioner, Ron Prettyman.

While sprint football follows all the standard American football rules, including an 11-on-11 player format, the sport offers a different approach to playing the game. Illustrative of its name, sprint football emphasizes speed and agility, thereby offering a faster-paced style of play. The main differentiator lies within the weight requirement of each player: 178lbs or less. Before each game, players will weigh in to ensure they are within the weight limit to play that individual game similar to wrestling. 

Sprint football isn't an entirely new sport to intercollegiate student-athletes; first introduced in 1934, nine East Coast colleges and universities currently offer the sport as part of the CSFL. The introduction of Sprint Football to the Midwest not only creates a gateway for the campus and community to come together, but it generates new opportunities for current and future students.