With 31 collegiate sports offered at Milligan, it is no secret that Milligan values athletics. Student-athletes make up the majority of the school’s population.
However, with such a range of sports offered, it is inevitable that some may receive less attention than others.
One of the most underrated sports on our campus is Women’s Flag Football.
The team hopes to change that as they begin their upcoming season with first-year Coach Ryan Witten providing new leadership.
Witten served last year as the assistant coach for the flag football team under Interim Head Coach Lauren Gullet, who is now our vice president of enrollment management.
Witten comes from a prestigious football family and is well equipped for the job. His brother, Jason, played 17 years in the NFL as a tight end for the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders respectively.
Ryan has coached at the middle and high school levels alongside his other brother, Shawn Witten, and has won state championships on both levels. He runs his own flag football league through his Witten Huddle organization, where he trains athletes and puts them in different game-like scenarios through flag football and 7-on-7 tournaments.
With this being his first full year as head coach and at Milligan, he’s ready to implement his own fast and skill-based style.
“I’m ready to get this thing started on full go,” he said.
“I’m eager to put a product on the field that our school and community would be proud to see.”
Witten came to Milligan last season halfway into the year after Coach Gullet brought the team to his facility to work out. Instantly, he became connected with all the girls on the team. When brought with the opportunity of the head coaching job after going with the team to Nationals, he found it to be a “great opportunity to build something special,” at Milligan.
Witten has a bright vision and sees lots of potential in this program and aims to do everything he can to achieve that vision.
“I aim to build a relationship with all the other coaches and teams at Milligan and support them,” he said. “I still want to go toe-to-toe and be competitive with all the other teams on campus.”
He pushes the girls to bring and create a “super positive environment and a hard-working attitude.”
Witten has reiterated time and time again that the group he has this year has been a godsend and has been nothing but receptive and loving to him. His ultimate goal as a coach is to “prepare student-athletes for life after Milligan,”.
He wants to teach his girls the hardness and truths of life through his workouts and philosophies and wants to set the precedent for years to come.
Coming off an NAIA nationals appearance, Witten hopes to improve on things such as football IQ and the team’s pure athleticism.
From a community perspective, Witten wants the community of Milligan and the tri-cities extended to come together and support the football team as if it were a tackle football team.
“I want to build a very fun atmosphere to come watch the girls dominate,” he said. “I want it to be an intimidating place to play and see a sea of black and orange.”
To support the flag football team this upcoming season, please visit https://milliganbuffs.com/sports/flagfball/index.
Headline photo from Milligan Flag Football