Women’s flag football is on track to gaining NCAA championship status. If all goes in accordance to plan, a title sport could even happen proper before the sport makes its Olympic debut on the 2028 LA Games.
The NCAA Committee on Access, Opportunity and Impact voted Tuesday to suggest that Divisions I, II and III add a nationwide collegiate flag football championship as quickly because the spring of 2028.
Although not official but, it is a large step towards NCAA championship inclusion for ladies’s flag football. In order to be really useful, 40 colleges want to sponsor it on the varsity degree. More than 100 colleges have been planning to compete in the course of the subsequent educational 12 months, in accordance to the NCAA.
“Today is a landmark day for collegiate athletics, as women’s flag football officially becomes an NCAA championship sport,” stated Marion Terenzio, chair of the Committee on Access, Opportunity and Impact Emerging Sport Subcommittee and president at SUNY Cobleskill. “This step acknowledges a sport whose progress, competitiveness and nationwide momentum have been not possible to ignore. Elevating flag football to championship status affirms that progress and opens new doorways for ladies to compete on the highest degree.”
The subsequent steps for including an NCAA flag football title sport embody every division reviewing the advice and sponsoring a proposal by July 1. Should that happen, the divisions will vote in January 2027, with all three divisions required to approve for a championship to be held. There would even be the formation of a committee to oversee NCAA girls’s flag football.
Women’s flag football is trying to be a part of a listing of sports activities which have gained NCAA championship status via the Emerging Sports for Women program. That contains rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003), seaside volleyball (2015), wrestling (2025), acrobatics and tumbling (2026) and stunt (2026).
“The momentum behind the game reflects the passion of athletes, coaches, administrators and partners across the country who have embraced flag football and invested in creating more opportunities for female athletes,” stated Izell Reese, founder and CEO of RCX Sports, the official operator of NFL FLAG. “We’re excited to proceed working alongside the NCAA, NFL and college leaders to assist speed up that progress and construct sustainable pathways for the following technology.”
Jacqie McWilliams Parker, chair of the Committee on Access, Opportunity, added: “Girls want to play. Whenever you give access and opportunity to an easier way to play, the better the success and numbers in participation you see.”
The International Olympic Committee voted in 2023 to embody flag football, together with cricket, baseball-softball, lacrosse and squash, on the Olympic program for Los Angeles.
The participation in flag football on the feminine aspect is skyrocketing. More than 20 states have now sanctioned it as a women’ highschool varsity sport and NFL golf equipment voted in December 2025 to help the launch of an expert flag football league.
It’s filtering down to all ages, too. The variety of women ages 6 to 12 taking part in flag football has elevated by 283% from 2015 to 2024, in accordance to USA Football analysis.
“This is nice information for flag football,” USA Football CEO Scott Hallenbeck stated. “Growing the game is central to our mission, and the potential for women’s flag football to have a fully recognized NCAA championship does exactly that.”
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