The origins of what would later become the Great Lakes Football League date back to the spring of 2012, when founder Michael Bautch created the Bragging Rights Fantasy League — a community-driven platform designed to bring fantasy football enthusiasts together. Serving as the league’s first and only commissioner, Bautch laid the groundwork for what would evolve into a long-standing and competitive fantasy football tradition.
The inaugural season kicked off on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with 12 teams competing under a free-to-play format. To encourage rivalries and balanced competition, the league was organized into three divisions: East, Central, and West.
That first season concluded with a thrilling championship matchup, where the Los Angeles Wildcats claimed the league’s first-ever championship, defeating the Green Bay Blizzard to cement their place in the early history of the Bragging Rights Fantasy League.
This debut campaign not only marked the beginning of spirited on-field battles but also established the camaraderie, competition, and commitment that would define the league for years to come.
The years 2013 through 2017 marked a period of transformation and steady growth for what was then known as the Bragging Rights Fantasy League. In 2013, the league introduced entry fees for the first time — a major milestone that elevated the competitive stakes. These pooled contributions were used to reward division champions, the league champion, and the runner-up, giving each season a tangible sense of achievement beyond bragging rights.
That same year also saw a wave of front-office changes, ushering in a new era of leadership and team identity. Four original General Managers — Dave Nguyen, Eryn Turner, Jason Richmond, and Mitch Smith — concluded their tenures. Taking their places were Ashley Coppersmith (Vegas), Bruce Coppersmith (Cleveland), Cody Coppersmith (Miami), and Amanda Strutz (Cedar Rapids), each bringing renewed energy and strategy to their franchises.
In 2015, Michael Arroyo took over the Cedar Rapids Titans, succeeding Amanda Strutz after two seasons, continuing the trend of evolving team leadership and roster building.
The 2016 season introduced another milestone — the league unveiled a new logo and updated color scheme, marking a visual rebrand that reflected its maturing identity and growing professionalism within the fantasy sports community.
By 2017, another round of leadership transitions took place as Ashley Coppersmith (Vegas) and Liz Bautch (Los Angeles) both stepped down. Their franchises quickly reloaded, with Matt Winkels taking over the Vegas Knight Hawks and Pete Jerving assuming control of the Los Angeles Wildcats. Around the same time, Green Bay also underwent a front-office change, as Dan Uribe succeeded original GM Paris Reed, looking to stabilize the team after several up-and-down seasons.
Across this five-year stretch, the Bragging Rights Fantasy League saw the rise of several powerhouse franchises. The Milwaukee Mustangs, under the leadership of Michael Bautch, became a model of consistency, producing four winning seasons, one division title, three conference titles, and one league championship. Meanwhile, Cody Coppersmith’s Miami franchise established itself as a dynasty in the making — earning four winning seasons, two division titles, two conference titles, and two Lakefron Bowl championships during this same span.
The 2018 season proved to be a defining chapter for the Bragging Rights Fantasy League, marked by unexpected challenges and remarkable resilience.
The league faced a significant setback when the General Managers of Brooklyn, Vegas, Northern Arizona, and Boston all announced their departures prior to the season. Commissioner Michael Bautch worked to fill the vacancies, but with limited time and interest, the league ultimately entered the year with 10 active teams, as Brooklyn and Boston sat out the season.
Amidst the turbulence, familiar faces returned to restore stability. Ashley Coppersmith came out of retirement to resume leadership of the Vegas Knight Hawks, while Dan Shilts stepped in as the new General Manager of Northern Arizona, ushering in a fresh start for the franchise.
Despite the league’s reduced size, the competition remained fierce. In a dramatic finale, Ashley Coppersmith and the Vegas Knight Hawks captured the 2018 championship, defeating Michaela Arroyo and the Cedar Rapids Titans. The win marked Ashley’s second career championship, tying the all-time record and symbolizing the league’s enduring spirit of competition, adaptability, and community — even in a season of transition.
The 2019 season marked a period of transformation for the Bragging Rights Fantasy League. Brooklyn rejoined the league after a one-year hiatus, now led by General Manager Cory Colvin, signaling a new era of leadership and competition. For the first time, the league expanded beyond Wisconsin’s borders, introducing non-resident General Managers to restore the roster to 12 teams. Among the newcomers were Travis Gebel (Boston), DeMario Suggs (Los Angeles), and Richard Head (Miami), bringing fresh energy — and, soon enough, drama — to the league.
On the field, the Inferno rose once again, capturing their third championship. But the season was not without turmoil. In one of the most infamous early-season scandals, Boston GM Travis Gebel was dismissed after just four weeks following a lineup controversy that shook the league’s integrity. Commissioner Bautch temporarily assumed control of the team before appointing Chris Cholka as the new General Manager to guide Boston through the remainder of the season. In a decisive move to preserve competitive fairness, all team stats and records were reassigned to Cholka, effectively erasing Gebel from Bragging Rights Fantasy League history.
Then came 2020 — a year that tested every institution, including the Bragging Rights Fantasy League. As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted sports worldwide, the league faced difficult questions about health, scheduling, and fairness. In a somber late-August press conference, Commissioner Bautch announced the unthinkable: the cancellation of the 2020 season. It was a heartbreaking but necessary decision, prioritizing safety over tradition. The pause sparked rumors and uncertainty about the league’s future, with some questioning whether the Bragging Rights Fantasy League would ever return.
Yet, in true Bragging Rights Fantasy League fashion, the spirit of competition endured — waiting patiently for the next chapter to unfold.
After a one-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the league — now branded as the Big 12 — triumphantly returned in 2021. Nine of the twelve General Managers from 2019 rejoined, while defending champion Richard Head (Miami), DeMario Suggs (Los Angeles), and Dan Uribe (Green Bay) did not return.
Los Angeles welcomed back a familiar face, as Liz Bautch came out of a four-year retirement to reclaim her post. In Miami, Adam Levetzow took over for Richard Head, bringing fresh energy to the franchise, while Mason Bautch made history in Green Bay as the youngest General Manager in Big 12 history.
The league also returned to its free-to-play format, a decision that would endure for several seasons and rekindle the original Big 12 spirit of competition. The 2021 campaign produced one of the most balanced seasons in league history — all four teams in the West Division finished at or above .500 and advanced to the playoffs, mirroring the East Division’s rare feat from 2016. When the dust settled, Cory Colvin’s Brooklyn squad hoisted the Big 12 Championship trophy, marking the franchise’s second title and tying Vegas for the second-most championships in league history.
The following year, 2022, saw something nearly unprecedented: every General Manager returned. Tight playoff races and divisional battles made it one of the most competitive seasons on record. In a stunning underdog run, second-year GM Mason Bautch guided the Green Bay Blizzard to their first-ever Big 12 Championship — knocking off top-seeded Los Angeles and ultimately defeating Dan Shilts’ Northern Arizona Wranglers in a matchup of first-time finalists. At just 20 years old, Mason became the youngest champion in Big 12 history.
The 2023 season brought bold innovation. The league restructured its roster format, replacing rigid position-specific slots with flexible Player Utility (PU) positions, allowing GMs to deploy players from any position. The change rewarded roster depth and strategic creativity — though it all but erased the traditional tight end, which many teams abandoned altogether.
Scoring also evolved, as the league introduced bonus points for every first down, fueling explosive offensive performances. By season’s end, five teams ranked among the top six in all-time single-season scoring. The year concluded with the Milwaukee Mustangs capturing their second Big 12 Championship, defeating the Northern Arizona Wranglers in a high-scoring thriller — a fitting finale to a three-year stretch defined by resilience, renewal, and relentless innovation.
The 2024 season marked a pivotal chapter of nostalgia and transformation for the Big 12 Fantasy League. Five franchises — the Cedar Rapids Titans, Green Bay Blizzard, Miami Inferno, Northern Arizona Wranglers, and Cleveland Gladiators — welcomed new General Managers. Many of these leaders though were familiar faces from the league’s early years, bringing both renewed energy and a sense of continuity to the Big 12’s evolving landscape.
The 2024 campaign proved to be a storybook season for Green Bay, as the Blizzard captured their second championship in three years, cementing their status as one of the league’s most successful modern-era franchises under General Manager Mason Bautch.
Following the season, the franchise announced a bold rebranding — moving away from its Wisconsin roots and unveiling a new identity as the Tucson Sugar Skulls ahead of the 2025 season. The move symbolized a fresh start and geographic expansion for the league, further emphasizing the Big 12’s reach beyond the Midwest.
The 2025 campaign carried a sense of both excitement and finality. It would mark the final season under the traditional redraft format, with a transition to a multi-year keeper system featuring salary caps planned for 2026. Competition was fierce, as teams not only chased a championship but also looked to position themselves strategically for the next era of league play.
When the dust settled, the 2025 CHAMPION claimed the final title of the redraft era — closing a memorable chapter in league history. In many ways, 2025 served as both a farewell to the league’s roots and a bridge to its future, blending the nostalgia of familiar rivalries with anticipation for a bold new era of year-round planning, auction strategy, and long-term roster construction.
Beginning with the 2026 season, the Big 12 Fantasy League officially transformed into the newly rebranded Great Lakes Football League (GLFL) — a move that signifies not just a new name, but a new identity. Along with the debut of the league’s marquee championship game, the Lakefront Bowl, the GLFL enters its most ambitious chapter yet: a shift from a traditional redraft format to a true multi-year dynasty experience.
Player contracts and salary caps will now span multiple seasons, pushing every General Manager to think like a real NFL front office — weighing elite talent against long-term flexibility, grooming rookies, and planning for windows of contention that rise and fall over time.
Draft day will never look the same. Each summer becomes a high-stakes combination of auction strategy, contract decisions, developmental bets, and future roster construction. Every move — from a blockbuster trade to a speculative rookie stash — now carries consequences that echo across future years.
This evolution is built to intensify rivalries, reward the sharpest minds, and create storylines that unfold over seasons rather than Sundays. As the GLFL kicks off this bold new era, one thing remains unchanged: the relentless chase for glory that defines every manager aiming to hoist the Lakefront Bowl trophy.