In a first, woman signs scholarship to play NCAA college football
She won’t be the first woman to play college football, but Becca Longo made her own bit of history this week when she became the first woman to sign a letter of intent to play NCAA Division I or II college football.
Longo, a senior at Chandler (Ariz.) Basha High School, signed with Division II Adams State in Colorado. It was first reported by The Arizona Republic.
Blessed and honored to say that I will be continuing my football career in Colorado at Adams State University Go Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/7fSf16wuAh
— Beccs (@BeccaLongo) March 5, 2017
The 5-foot-11, 140-pound Longo made 30-of-33 extra-point attempts during her senior year, according to MaxPreps. She made her lone field goal attempt of the season, a 30-yarder. Her high school team was led by dual-threat quarterback Ryan Kelley, an Arizona State signee.
Timm Rosenbach, the former NFL quarterback who is now the head coach at Adams State, said he watched Longo workout, which is allowed in Division II.
“To me, there is no doubt she can be competitive. She has a strong leg and she can be very accurate,” Rosenbach told The Arizona Republic.
Longo also plans to play basketball at Adams State. In 23 games as a senior, she averaged 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, according to MaxPreps.
“It’s going to be stronger kicking, but she’ll get stronger and she’ll compete,” said Gerald Todd, who coached her in high school. “There’s what she’ll do. She’ll compete. She’ll be fine.”
Unlike in Division I football, Division II does not have to offer full scholarships to football players. Instead teams have 36 scholarships to divide up among players on the team, which is far greater than 36. It is not clear how much scholarship money Longo will receive. In Division I, all scholarship football players receive a full scholarship.
About a dozen women have played in college football games, according to ESPN, but none of them were on scholarship at an NCAA program.
“I didn’t know that until today,” Longo told ESPN. “I’m still in shock from all of it. I’m just amazed.”
Katie Hnida was the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I-A game, college football’s top level, when she kicked two extra points for New Mexico in a 72-8 victory against Texas State in 2003.
This story was originally published April 14, 2017 at 1:21 PM with the headline "In a first, woman signs scholarship to play NCAA college football."