Who is Haley Van Voorhis, The First Female Non-Kicker to Play in NCAA Football Game?
Despite playing in Week 4 of the 2023 college football season for a Division III team, Haley Van Voorhis is garnering attention. This past Saturday, Van Voorhis left her imprint in the sands of time. She made history by playing in a position other than kicking in an NCAA football game.
Given that football is a sport dominated by men, it makes sense that Van Voorhis’ accomplishment attracted a lot of attention.
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For the football squad of the Shenandoah Hornets, Van Voorhis is a junior safety. She is a Virginian who is from The Plains. Her high school football season was spent at Christchurch School. In 2019, she was named as an honorable mention All-State performer.
Van Voorhis’ accomplishment is in no way diminished by the fact that Shenandoah is a Division III institution. On Saturday versus Juniata College, she participated in a game for the Hornets. She also played a quarterback hurry, resulting in a fourth down, in addition to other things.
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Van Voorhis is a tall woman who has a very strong physique and personality. She competes in sprints for the track and field squad and is a multi-talented dual athlete.
Hasn’t even been a month and I miss it too much pic.twitter.com/xEY5GZL9bs
— Haley Van Voorhis (@Haley_VV) December 4, 2019
She made an impression on Brock McCullough, who oversaw the defense for the Hornets during Van Voorhis’ first campaign. To the Winchester Star in 2021, he reportedly said:
“She’s super humble. She doesn’t say much. She’s out there to work hard. I think the players really respect the fact that she’s one of our hardest workers.”
Haley Van Voorhis, is she the first female college football player?
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Not the first woman to play collegiate football is Haley Van Voorhis. She is the first person to play safety, though. The first female non-kicker in NCAA football Shelby Osborne played for Campbellsville University in 2014. She did not, however, appear in any games.
The first female collegiate football player to score a point was Liz Heaston. When she added an extra point for Willamette University in 1997, she was able to do this. Willamette was an NAIA school back then.
Beyond happy to be back at it pic.twitter.com/SqrCCzfzQt
— Haley Van Voorhis (@Haley_VV) May 10, 2021
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Vanderbilt was the first club in the Power Five to use a female scorer. As a placekicker for the Commodores in 2020, Sarah Fuller added points to the score. The Commodores’ soccer team included Fuller as their goalkeeper.
For much of the history of the sport, women’s roles in football have been largely restricted to supporting ones. Van Voorhis, though, continues to pave the way for women to play the game.
