Atlantic East Conference Dissolving, Remaining Members Joining United East
The NCAA Division III Atlantic East Conference will dissolve at the conclusion of the 2026-27 academic year. The four remaining full members, Centenary University (NJ), Gwynedd Mercy University (PA), Immaculata University (PA), and Marymount University (VA), will join the NCAA Division III United East Conference at the start of the 2027-28 academic year.
The Atlantic East has only four women's flag football members for the 2026-27 academic year. Centenary, Immaculata, and Marymount compete alongside affiliate member Penn State Schuylkill. It's not immediately clear whether Schuylkill will attempt to join the United East, as the women's team also competes as an affiliate in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Gwynedd Mercy does not sponsor women's flag football.
In March 2026, the Atlantic East and United East Conferences announced a strategic partnership to maintain NCAA Championship access for schools in both conferences. The conferences made it clear the partnership was not a merger at the time. Both conferences sponsor women's flag football, but it was not one of the six sports that combined teams in the April 2026 announcement.
For the 2027-28 academic year, the United East currently has 8 varsity teams lined up to compete in women's flag football. In addition to Centenary (NJ), Immaculata, and Marymount, Cairn University (PA), Cedar Crest College (PA), Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.), Keystone College (PA), and Penn State Harrisburg (PA) offer varsity teams. Lancaster Bible College (PA) offers a club team, but has not participated at the varsity level.
The Atlantic East made women's flag football history in 2023 as the first NCAA conference to sponsor the sport. Teams began competing at the club level in the 2024 spring season, followed by varsity status in the 2025 spring campaign. Marymount won the inaugural conference championship in 2024 over Immaculata 52-0. Marymount went on to win the 2025 and 2026 championships as well.
While the Atlantic East will have one final championship in spring 2027, the conference will be forever linked with the dawn of women's college flag football. In three years, the NCAA went from zero conferences sponsoring the sport to one in the Atlantic East, to 14 for the 2026-27 academic year. Half of those conferences are NCAA Division III conferences, including the American Southwest Conference, Atlantic East Conference, Empire 8, Middle Atlantic Conference, Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, and United East Conference.