Deliah Autry

Tampa Celebrates Flag Football World Champion And Community Hero Deliah Autry

Deliah Autry
Deliah Autry (City of Tampa)

TAMPA, Fla. – With Super Bowl LIX excitement building, the city of Tampa is shining a spotlight on its own homegrown champion, Deliah Autry, a three-time gold medalist with the United States Women’s National Flag Football Team.

Autry, 29, is a former Tampa Parks and Recreation employee and continues to give back to the community through her non-profit organization, Camp13. She has deep roots in the city, having attended Kwane Doster and Port Tampa community centers starting at age five and playing flag football, basketball, and volleyball at T.R. Robinson High School.

Her talent on the field earned her the 2013 Hillsborough County Outstanding Flag Football Player of the Year award and First Team All-State honors.

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“Deliah Autry is a winner on and off the field,” said Mayor Jane Castor. “She has won three golds with the United States Women’s National Team, has two college degrees, is about to get her MBA, and she still finds the time to share her talent with our local children.”

After high school, Autry attended the University of South Florida and worked for Tampa’s Parks and Recreation Department as a Recreation Leader, coaching various sports and even teaching Latin dance. She later pursued a Master’s degree at Florida A&M University and, upon returning to Tampa in 2020, began offering flag football clinics to local children through Camp13.

“This is the kind of inspirational story — the kind of inspirational person — that Parks and Recreation staffers work to contribute to developing every day,” said Parks and Recreation Director Tony Mulkey. “Gold medalist, college graduate, philanthropist – any one of these accomplishments would qualify as a career highlight, but in true Deliah fashion, she has all three covered.”

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Since 2020, Autry has hosted approximately 15 clinics through Camp13, each attended by around 100 children. This year, she will offer two clinics: March 17th at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park and August 1st at Riverfront Recreation Center. Both clinics are scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration is available at www.tampa.gov/camp13-march and www.tampa.gov/camp13-august.

Autry’s flag football journey continued at the club level in college, and in 2021, she earned a spot on the U.S. Women’s National Team as a defensive back. The team has won world championships in 2021 and 2024, as well as the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship. Autry now has her sights set on the 2028 Olympics.

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