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Five-Time National Champions to Lead Nebraska Women's Flag Football

Nebraska athletics director Troy Dannen announced the first coaches of the newest Husker sport on Thursday.
Kaleb Henry|
Liz Sowers (right) and Katie Sowers (left) take over as the head coach and associate head coach, respectively, for Nebraska women's flag football.
Liz Sowers (right) and Katie Sowers (left) take over as the head coach and associate head coach, respectively, for Nebraska women's flag football. | Braves Athletics

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

The first staff hirings of Nebraska's newest varsity sport are official.

Nebraska athletics director Troy Dannen announced on Thursday that Liz Sowers will take over as the head coach for the new women's flag football team. Her twin sister, Katie, will join her as the associate head coach.

The pair built a powerhouse at the NAIA level, winning the last five national championships at Ottawa University in Kansas. They will make the transition to Nebraska this summer and officially start on June 1.

"We are thrilled to bring Liz and Katie Sowers to Lincoln to build our women’s flag football program," Dannen said. "Together, they have built a championship program at the NAIA level and have experienced success working with national teams.

"They have a great vision for what flag football can become at the University of Nebraska and also understand the potential for the sport and the opportunities it will provide for young women across the collegiate landscape."

Ottawa is currently 1-0 on the season after a Thursday morning victory over Keiser University, 32-28. The regular season runs through April 11. The NAIA Women's Flag Football Invitational to crown a national champion is set for May 6-9.

In January, Nebraska became the first Power Four school to add women’s flag football as a varsity sport, and plans to play its first competitive season in the spring of 2028.

Besides the five national championships, Liz Sowers is a three-time KCAC Coach of the Year and owns an 88-8 record in her career as a head coach. She has recruited athletes from 17 different states and four different countries to help build Ottawa into a powerhouse program.

"This is the start of a new era, and we intend to set the standard," Liz said. "It’s an honor to lead the first flag football program at Nebraska, and even more meaningful to build it alongside my twin sister in a place with such deep tradition. We want young girls across Nebraska to see this team and know there’s a future here for them."

More than just dominating NAIA, Liz was the defensive coordinator for the USA Women’s National Team in 2023, which she helped to a Continental Championships gold medal. Her defense allowed the fewest points in USA team history. Prior to that, she served as the head coach of the 17U Girls Junior National Team in 2022, which won a gold medal at the Junior National Championships.

As a player, Liz was a seven-time First-Team All-American for the Kansas City Titans. She also played for the West Michigan Mayhem, Kansas City Tribe and Kansas City Glory. She was on the 2016, 2018 and 2021 USA Women’s Flag Football teams and on the 2013 and 2017 USA Women’s Tackle Football teams. She is a two-time gold medalist with the national tackle football team and also won gold with the national flag football team in 2018.

In college, Liz played four years of college basketball, two at Hesston (Kan.) College and two at Oakland University. She was an NJCAA All-American at Hesston and helped Oakland to two conference titles.

Katie Sowers served as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator, along with the director of operations, during Ottawa's five national titles. She also served as the head coach for the Italian Women’s National Flag Football team from 2023-24.

"I am proud to join the Nebraska family as part of the first coaching staff in program history,” Katie said. “This is a fanbase that lives and breathes excellence, and I can’t wait to give this amazing fanbase another sport to rally behind."

Katie has been on the coaching staff for three different NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, and Atlanta Falcons.

With the Chiefs, Katie was selected for the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship and worked with the tight ends in 2021. From 2017-21, she worked as an offensive quality control coach for the 49ers, where she primarily helped the wide receiver room and aided with scouting and run and pass game evaluations. Katie was a player personnel scout for the Atlanta Falcons from 2015-17, where she created weekly practice player and prospect evaluations and assisted with scouting.

As a collegiate athlete at Goshen College (NAIA), Katie played basketball and soccer and ran track.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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