Nebraska women's flag football has its first coach

Nebraska’s brand new flag football program has named its coach, the athletic department announced Thursday.

Ottawa University of Kansas coach Liz Sowers will take over the program starting on June 1. Sowers is a five-time NAIA national champion at Ottawa, according to Nebraska Athletics. Sowers’ twin sister, Katie Sowers, will serve as associate head coach. The duo coached together in Kansas.

Director of Athletics Troy Dannen said in a statement that he’s thrilled to welcome the sisters to campus this summer.

“Together they have built a championship program at the NAIA level and have experienced success working with national teams,” Dannen said on Thursday. “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.”

As head coach, Liz Sowers boasts an 88-8 record and won conference Coach of the Year honor three times at Ottawa, Husker Athletics said.

In mid-January, the Huskers established the first-ever flag football team among Power Four conference schools on the same day the sport was approved by the NCAA.

"This is the start of a new era, and we intend to set the standard,” Sowers said in a news release. “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."

She served as an assistant coach for the 2023 USA Football National Team, according to Ottawa University. Sowers played for several teams in the Women’s National Football Conference while also competing on the U.S. Women’s Flag Football team in 2016, 2018 and 2021.

The new Husker coach already has Division I coaching experience in women’s basketball, where she worked as a graduate assistant for the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Sowers played four years of college basketball, including two years at a Kansas junior college called Hesston College. She holds school records for points in a game, season and career. In her final two years of college, she played for Division I’s Oakland University, where her teams won the conference title both seasons.