Guest speakers and clinicians from the Pittsburgh Passion professional women’s football team will share their experiences and enthusiasm for the game during St. Bonaventure University’s Girls & Women in Sports Day on April 18.

The annual event usually draws up to 500 female high school athletes from across the region to connect over their love of sports.

Dr. Paula Scraba, organizer of the event and associate professor of physical education, is thrilled to welcome Passion co-head coach Lisa Horton and player Devon Peace to campus.

“Flag football is now an official sport for New York State Public High School Athletic Association and we are featuring flag football this year during our Girls and Women in Sports Day,” Scraba said.

During the day, the high school student-athletes will choose from among a number of sports and health clinics run by St. Bonaventure student-athletes and coaches.

Along with recognizing St. Bonaventure’s National Championship women’s rugby team at the event, every school attending Girls and Women in Sports Day will go home with a rugby ball autographed by the team, Scraba said.

She also noted St. Bonaventure’s Department of Athletics is extending special invitations to girls under age 12 and their families to attend the St. Bonaventure women’s Feb. 14 game in celebration of the national Girls & Women in Sports Day.  

The Pittsburgh Passion women’s football team is the most recognized women’s full-contact football franchise in the world. Founded in the Steel City in 2002, the team competes in the Women’s Football Alliance Pro Division.

Horton is a Cleveland, Ohio, native who attended Baldwin-Wallace College and then Cleveland State University in her undergraduate years to play NCAA volleyball and softball. She then pursued her master’s degree in exercise science at Slippery Rock University while coaching softball as a graduate assistant.

That was where her football career began as she was part of the Passion’s inaugural season. Horton serves as the co-head coach and offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Passion as well as an assistant offensive coach at Slippery Rock.

Horton played more than 15 years in the world of woman’s full-contact football as the starting QB and captain. Among her many notable successes, she was selected as a first team All-American more than 14 times during her career, led her team to three undefeated national championships and had multiple MVP selections. Her career totals include more than 18,000 total passing yards and 200 scoring touchdowns.

In 2017, Horton was one of three quarterbacks who led the Women’s USA National Team to a gold medal in Vancouver, and in 2022 she participated as both a coach and player on the U.S. National Team that won the gold medal in Vantaa, Finland.

She was inducted into the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, where her No. 14 jersey is displayed today. Horton is in her fifth season as the co-head coach and offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Passion.

In an effort to build her coaching career, Horton spent time with the Cleveland Browns through a coaching fellowship in 2022. She truly believes and lives the Passion’s mission of “teaching life lessons through sport” in all her career endeavors.

Player Devon Peace is a Western New York native and a graduate of Portville Central School. She competed in the long and triple jump at Robert Morris University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting and master’s degree in information security and assurance. She is a manager in the internal audit practice at KPMG in Pittsburgh.

Peace found the Pittsburgh Passion women’s tackle football team in 2018 and has played primarily as an outside linebacker, on special teams, and as a wide receiver. She is a three-time All-American.

Peace has also participated in the Passion’s flag football tournaments across the country. She is thankful for the opportunity to play tackle football with a team of other talented and dedicated women who are living their dream.

The Pittsburgh Passion competes in the Women’s Football Association, which holds the national championship at the Hall of Fame stadium in Canton, Ohio, in late July.

Today, Feb. 7, marks the 38th Annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). A vibrant movement powered by the Women’s Sports Foundation, NGWSD honors the achievements of girls and women in sports and continues to “Lead Her Forward” by acknowledging the power of sports to unlock limitless potential.

For more information about the April 18 event at St. Bonaventure, contact Scraba at (716) 375-2444.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).