The Minnesota Vixen is a professional women's football team based in the Twin Cities. The team has been known as the Minnesota Vixens and Minneapolis Vixens prior to being known as the Vixen (note lack of "s").
Established in 1999, the Vixen are the longest continuously operating women's American football team in the nation. The team plays full contact, tackle football following NCAA rules. The season is from April to June each year with playoffs in July.
In 2014, the Vixen's record was 6-2 with an invite to the inaugural Legacy Bowl in South Carolina. In 2016, the team went undefeated in the regular season winning the IWFL Midwest Division. They then faced the New York Shark for the IWFL Eastern Conference Championship, winning in double overtime and appeared in the IWFL World Championship Game in South Carolina against the Utah Falconz. In 2017, the Vixen changed leagues and joined the Women's Football Alliance (WFA) where they continue to compete on a national level. Since joinging the WFA the Vixen have appeared in 3 national championship games, 2018, 2021 and 2022.
Since 2015, the Vixen have partnered with Town Square Television to have all Minnesota Vixen home games televised live along with live web streaming. In 2019, the Vixen were the first women's team to offer live broadcast of all regular season games including both home and away via Town Square Television.
Laura Brown is the current owner of the Vixen and has run team operations with James Brown since 2014. Laura Brown was named to the WFA's Owner's Board in October, 2018.
History
1999 Barnstorming Tour
Vixen history dates back to 1999, when businessmen Carter Turner and Terry Sullivan decided to explore the feasibility of a professional women's football league by gathering together top female athletes from across the United States and dividing them into two teams for a nationwide series of exhibition game. More than 100 women attended tryouts. The teams were named the Minnesota Vixens and the Lake Michigan Minx, and the "No Limits" Barnstorming Tour featured six games in such locations as Miami, Chicago, and New York. The final exhibition game was played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis (known worldwide as home to the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings). While the Vixens lost the game by a score of 30-27, the tour's success inspired the expansion of the Women's Professional Football League to 11 teams in 2000.
2000: WPFL kicks off
The success of the tour led Turner and Sullivan to form the Women's Professional Football League; although the Minx would not join the Vixen in the WPFL's first full season, the Austin Rage, Colorado Valkyries, Daytona Beach Barracudas, Houston Energy, Miami Fury, New England Storm, New York Galaxy, New York Sharks, Oklahoma City Wildcats, and Tampa Tempest would join the Vixen to form the WPFL's inaugural roster of teams. The Vixen would finish the regular season unbeaten at 5-0, clinch the Central Division title, and ensure home-field advantage throughout the American Conference playoffs. However, that playoff run would only last one game, as the Vixen lost the American Conference Championship Game to the eventual WPFL Champion Houston Energy by a score of 35-14.
2001
The Vixen played a three-game season, going 1-2 against the Arizona Caliente and the Indianapolis Vipers.
2002
The Vixen finished 2-3 and fourth place in the National Conference.
2003
The Vixen finished 2-7 and fourth place in the American Conference, North Division.
2004
The Vixen finished 6-4 and second place in the National Conference, North Division, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in four years. However, they would lose the National Conference Semifinal game to the Delaware Griffins.
2005
Once again, the Vixen finished 6-4, second place in the North Division, and qualified for a playoff spot. Although they defeated the Indiana Speed in the National Conference Semifinal, the Vixen lost to the New York Dazzles in the National Conference Championship game.
2006
The Vixen finished 2-6 and third place in the National Conference, East Division.
2007
In their final year in the WPFL, the Vixen finished 2-5 and third place in the National Conference, North Division. Soon afterwards, the Vixen left the WPFL to join the National Women's Football Association.