Sarah Fuller Makes History As 1st Woman To Play In A Power 5 Football Game

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Sarah Fuller of the Vanderbilt Commodores kicks off in the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.





Hunter Dyke/Mizzou Athletics via Getty Images



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Hunter Dyke/Mizzou Athletics via Getty Images




Sarah Fuller of the Vanderbilt Commodores kicks off in the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.


Hunter Dyke/Mizzou Athletics via Getty Images

Sarah Fuller has made history as the first woman to ever play in a Power 5 college football game.

The Vanderbilt University senior made her historic debut as a kicker for the Vanderbilt Commodores in their face-off against the University of Missouri Tigers on Saturday. She kicked off for the Commodores to start the second half. The play makes her the first woman to see game-time action in a Power 5 football game.

What an inspiration

Sarah Fuller becomes the first woman to play in a Power 5 college football game.

(via @SECNetwork) pic.twitter.com/2hGXmcvBeK

— ESPN (@espn) November 28, 2020

The Power 5 consists of the biggest and most popular athletic conferences, including the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference and Pac-12 Conference.

Fuller joined the football team’s roster after practicing with them earlier this week, the Vanderbilt Hustler reports. The decision to add her to the ranks reportedly came after several team specialists entered quarantines related to COVID-19.

Although it was her first time playing for the football team, Fuller is no stranger to Vanderbilt sports. The Wylie, Texas, native made her first start as the goalkeeper for the Vanderbilt women’s soccer team on Oct. 11. Last Sunday, she made three saves in a game against the University of Arkansas that won her team the SEC Tournament Championship title — their first since 1994.

Fuller’s historic kickoff in the third quarter of Saturday’s game sent the ball 30 yards to the opposing team’s 35-yard line. Missouri did not return the kick. Despite Fuller making college football history, Vanderbilt was crushed by Missouri, losing the game 0-41.

Fuller is just the third woman to play in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, after Katie Hnida of New Mexico and April Goss of Kent State, according to ESPN. Liz Heaston was the first woman ever to play — and score — in a college football game, kicking two extra points that helped lead Willamette University to victory against Linfield College on Oct. 18, 1997.

In a Twitter post on Friday night, Fuller made clear that she knew she was breaking barriers, writing, «Let’s Make History.

Let’s make history. #PlayLikeAGirl #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/3SgBP1qZru

— Sarah Fuller (@SarahFuller_27) November 27, 2020

In another nod to breaking barriers, her helmet during Saturday’s game had «Play Like a Girl written on the back. Play Like A Girl is a nonprofit that encourages girls to participate in STEM and sports.

Several Twitter users said they had tuned in to Saturday’s game just to watch Fuller make history.

I’m not invested in Vanderbilt or Missouri football teams but I am invested in the success of Sarah Fuller! #InvestInWomen pic.twitter.com/HYAo4qzQpv

— Amber Jamison (@AmberJamison25) November 28, 2020

Here's why the Sarah Fuller story is awesome, whether she plays today or not. My teenage daughter came downstairs just now and immediately said, "Let's check in on the Vanderbilt game." pic.twitter.com/kh1QarFbH9

— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) November 28, 2020

Fuller also received support from the American tennis player Billie Jean King, who wrote in a Twitter post that «women belong in the game.

Football history may happen today.

Good luck to @VanderbiltU’s Sarah Fuller, goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team, who is dressing for their football team as its place-kicker.

If she plays, she will be the 1st woman to do so in Power 5 football.

Women belong in the game! https://t.co/XouFpvMRgd

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) November 28, 2020

King made headlines in 1973 when she defeated the former men’s tennis champion Bobby Riggs in the match billed as the «Battle of the Sexes.