With support from the NFL, women’s flag football has grown rapidly at the college level over the past few years. More than 20 Division I programs — including one at the Power 4 level, Nebraska — have announced their intentions to launch teams at the varsity level by 2028, and many more are playing the sport at the Division II and III levels. Recent Division I programs to announce the addition of women’s flag football teams include Sacramento State and Maryland Eastern Shore. More than 75 schools across the NCAA’s three divisions plan to play women’s flag football in the next academic year and have hired coaches.
In this upcoming academic year, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference — one of two Division I NCAA conferences that is made up of only historically Black colleges — will be the first at the D1 level to host a conference championship for the sport. The Big South will sponsor a full season and championship for women’s flag football in the 2027-28 season too.
At the Division II and III levels, this has already been accomplished by the Atlantic East and Conference Carolinas. Wingate won the first Conference Carolinas’ league championship in women’s flag football this spring, defeating Ferrum College, 32-14. Marymount repeated as the champs of the Atlantic East with a 12-6 win over Eastern.
In lieu of an official NCAA Tournament this past year, the Fiesta Sports Foundation held its own national championship for flag football, inviting seven club teams and one varsity squad. UCF won the Fiesta Sports championship, defeating Florida 19-7.
The Big 12 plans to have six teams playing women’s flag football at the varsity level by 2028. The ACC, Phillips said last month, is also talking about flag football.
“We’ve talked to our membership in the ACC about it, and campuses are having internal conversations about what’s best for their individual school,” Phillips said at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina. “But it’s certainly something that’s in our landscape right now as an emerging sport.”
