As the Superbowl LVII approaches, former Redbird Konesha Rhea reflects on a historic high school football game she coached last fall in Chicago. While studying criminal justice at Illinois State University in fall 1994, she never could have imagined she would go on to become a football coach and make history.
When the United States saw its first high school varsity football game with teams led by female coaches, Rhea was one of the two. The other was her good friend Jouscelyn Mayfield of Fenger High School, whom she met while volunteering in a youth football league.
The journey didn’t start with that historic game, though. DuSable High School put her on that path when it hired “Coach K” for its open varsity football coaching position in 2021. That decision made her the first Black woman to lead a boy’s football team in the Chicago Public League and in the state of Illinois.
At the time, Rhea had been the defensive coordinator at DuSable. Prior to that, her experience included coaching on the staff of a youth league team and playing women’s tackle football with the Chicago Force. Although her DuSable Panthers did not win the game against Fenger last September, Rhea still views it as a win for future female players and coaches. She told WBBM-TV, “It’s bigger than us, and we know it’s bigger than us.”
No matter where Coach K goes from here, she keeps ISU near and dear to her heart.
It was fall 1994 when she fell in love with the campus. Captivated by the green grass on the legendary Quad, the red brick of her Atkin-Colby residence hall, and the many activities and interests there for the new Redbird to explore, Rhea loved Illinois State University.
When she wasn’t in class, she served on the Association of Residence Halls for South Campus, was a member of the Black Student Union, and participated on the 1995 Sigma Sweetheart Court. Almost 30 years later, Rhea gushes about her years at Illinois State. “I had an amazing time and an amazing learning experience. I learned a lot.”
A family illness forced an early departure from the University, and she finished a business administration degree at Chicago State University. For almost a decade now, however, she has taken college-ready family members and friends downstate for a campus visit, boasting, “I can tell you until I’m blue in the face how wonderful my campus is, but you have to see it.”
Back on the football field, Rhea says she’s looking forward to a winning season next year and an Eagles victory at the Super Bowl. And, maybe we’ll see her back on campus with a few of her Chicago football stars.
