She is Football Weekend Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5K Run, Walk and Stroll

Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Debut ‘She is Football Weekend’ with Family-Friendly 5K and Market

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are changing the narrative in a historically male-dominated realm. Events like the Buccaneers’ inaugural She is Football Weekend represent the changing landscape happening in the NFL and beyond, one where females are welcomed and celebrated.

She is Football Weekend, occurring March 7-8 at Raymond James Stadium and the Advent Health Training Center, is part of the Buccaneers’ long commitment to empowering women and girls through sports, leadership and community engagement.

A young boy in a bright green rash guard and patterned swim trunks smiles excitedly with his arms outstretched while standing in shallow water at a colorful water park. Behind him, vibrant blue, red, and yellow water slides and play structures tower under a partly cloudy sky.

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She is Football Weekend Details

  • Friday, March 7: Women’s Summit (featuring a live recording of Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson’s podcast “Calm Down with Erin & Charissa”). Friday will also kick off the first day of the flag football tournament.
  • Saturday, March 8 at 8 am: 5K and 1 mile Run, Walk & Stroll through Raymond James Stadium, market and festival with women-owned businesses, fitness classes, food trucks and the last day of the flag football tournament.
  • Saturday, March 8: Market and Festival from 10 am- 3pm: Head to the AdventHealth Training Center for a high energy festival featuring women-owned market vendors from throughout Tampa Bay, live music, food trucks, signature beverages, fitness activities, a cheer clinic, and more. Try local eats, shop your favorite Tampa Bay brands, and support the incredible women driving our small business community!

Committed

Kourtney Sanchez, the Buccaneers’ Chief Impact Officer, explains: “Investing in, supporting, and developing young girls has been a core priority for the Bucs organization and the Glazer family for a long time.”

Launching She is Football Weekend serves as both a celebration and an opportunity to raise awareness about the transformative power of sports for young girls. Their contributions to growing girls' flag football programming have cemented the Buccaneers as champions for women and girls who envision a future in football.

For Her

She is Football Weekend is a carefully curated experience with multiple components designed for a diverse audience. Built on four elements, the weekend includes a women’s career summit, two-day girls flag tournament, 5K and market and festival.

Sanchez says, “Friday’s summit will focus on leadership and relationship-building, setting the stage for a two-day girls' flag football tournament. Saturday’s atmosphere will be a festive one, with a family-friendly 5K and one-mile run/walk/stroll and an array of women-owned market vendors.”

Community and corporate partnerships are part of She is Football Weekend’s bedrock. “Panelists and mentors for the Summit were chosen from both longstanding collaborations and internal talent, ensuring a mix of experiences and backgrounds,” Sanchez notes. Key was partnering with people who have consistently helped elevate messages of female empowerment.

Female leadership from Jabil, the weekend’s presenting sponsor, will comprise some of the mentors at Friday’s Summit. The speakers’ and mentors’ myriad backgrounds reinforce the Buccaneers’ broader mission to open doors for everyone, regardless of gender. Milestones, like sending two female coaches to the Super Bowl (2020), demonstrate the Bucs’ resolve to continue building a culture where talent is recognized and nurtured.

“We’re asking the Tampa Bay Community to join us for She is Football Weekend. While the Summit is geared for professional women, the weekend is for everyone,” Sanchez says. “We have been developing girls into leaders for a long time now, and it’s well known that the Buccaneers are national leaders in girls' flag football.”

The varied experiences and attention to pricing were designed so the community rallies alongside the Bucs in carrying out the organization’s mission to support gender equity both on and off the playing field.

Pathways

Evidence shows a strong correlation between participating in sports and assuming a leadership position. “Studies indicate that 94% of female C-suite leaders played sports as children,” Sanchez notes. Playing sports instills qualities crucial for leadership: discipline, teamwork, and resilience.

Proceeds from She is Football Weekend will ensure continued growth of the Bucs’ girls' flag football programming. Events like Friday’s Summit are testaments to the Buccaneers’ engagement with the Tampa Bay area’s current generation of female leaders.

She is Football Weekend gives local Girl Scouts access to the Buccaneers’ professional offices, where the girls will have opportunities to speak with female leadership within the building and learn about the wide-ranging pathways into careers in sports. The tours will demonstrate female representation in the fitness coaching department, on the creative team and within the analytically minded finance office.

“We’re showcasing possibilities for their futures,” Sanchez says. Driven by the belief that talent recruitment involves a focus on people who add value to an organization, regardless of gender, the Bucs are demystifying leadership and making it accessible to young women. The Bucs organization is laying the groundwork for a future where women are not only participants but trailblazers in sports.

Further supporting their efforts, the Bucs launched initiatives like the She is Football Scholarship. A first of its kind, the academic scholarships are for college-bound females who play a form of organized football. Additionally, the Bucs’ Emerging Talent Program provides recent college graduates with a paid, year-long experience within an NFL team.

Emerging Talent Leaders get to spend time in various departments, learning from people across the Buccaneers organization. Sanchez believes that learning relationship building is integral to attaining and advancing a career in sports. By upholding diversity, fostering leadership and building inclusive pathways, the Buccaneers’ initiatives are changing lives.

Forward

Empowering girls and women in sports is about more than creating opportunities on the field. Empowerment is born from cultivating leaders capable of inspiring and transforming communities. The She is Football Weekend embodies such empowerment. Sustained growth of the female fan base and increased media attention on women’s roles in sports are indicators of progress.

The Buccaneers work supporting women in sports, during She is Football Weekend and throughout the year, supports efforts to secure women as natural parts of the sports industry and as leaders within the Tampa Bay community and beyond.

‘She is Football' Scholarship Recipients:

  • Janae Scott
    An inaugural recipient of the scholarship, Janae Scott, has enjoyed a successful career at the collegiate level playing both soccer and flag football. Janae was invited to the Olympic trials for flag football, which makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 LA Olympics.
  • Eryn Klaus
    Currently a sophomore at the University of Florida, Eryn Klaus graduated as valedictorian of Alonso High School and won a flag football state championship her senior year.
  • Danielle Musry
    Danielle Musry, from the most recent class of scholarship recipients, graduated from Sickles High School, where she served as the flag football team captain. Musry played in the Buccaneer Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic three times and held multiple leadership roles on the Hillsborough County Youth Leadership Council, including serving as president. Musry is currently finishing her freshman year of college, where she’s playing for the school's soccer team.

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Originally published in the March 2025 issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine.