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The Football Team Full of Ph.Ds

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A decade ago, a grad student at the University of Texas told her roommate that she dreamed of teaching at BYU and starting an all-women’s faculty flag football team.

Sarah Olson Brinton was recruiting before she even got the BYU job.

Her roommate, Elizabeth Jeffery Kraczek, would go on to become this dream team’s starting quarterback ­— after finishing a Ph.D. in astrophysics.

“This is easily the best thing that happened to me while at BYU and I’m so happy that I’ve been a part of it,” said Kraczek, who taught at BYU from 2014 ­– 2017.

That happiness comes purely from being part of an academically accomplished sisterhood — not from winning games. These professor-athletes compete against student teams full of younger, more athletic players who also have more football experience.

College of Physical and Mathematical Science faculty involved with the team include Statistics faculty members Candace Berrett and Natalie Blades; Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty members Kara Stowers,Rebecca Sansom, and Jennifer Nielson; and Physics and Astronomy faculty member Denise Stephens and visiting faculty member Elizabeth Jeffery.

Read here for more.

Read here for the Wall Street Journal article about this intramural team.