Barry University, Calumet College, and Lebanon Valley College Adding Varsity Flag Football
Barry University (FL), Calumet College of St. Joseph (IN), and Lebanon Valley College (PA) will add varsity women's flag football programs. Barry and Lebanon are NCAA members, while Calumet competes in the NAIA.
Barry currently sponsors a club team and will elevate the program to varsity status beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. Barry is one of four schools from the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference to have a club or varsity team. Nova Southeastern University (FL), Saint Leo University (FL), and the University of Tampa (FL) club flag football programs.
Calumet will add a flag football team beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. Calumet is the first team from the NAIA's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference to add a club or varsity flag football program. They will be joined by three other new teams from Indiana schools next year: Indiana Wesleyan University (NAIA), Purdue University Fort Wayne (NCAA D-I club team), and Valparaiso University (NCAA D-I club team). Purdue University Northwest (NCAA D-II) and the University of Saint Francis (NAIA) will compete in the 2025-26 academic year.
Lebanon Valley will add a varsity women's flag football team and have its first full season of competition in the 2028-29 academic year. Lebanon Valley is the second current member from the NCAA Division III Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) to add a flag football team, following Albright College's (PA) announcement earlier this year.
LVC's press release also provided some insight into the timing of the program. Lebanon Valley plans to hire a coach during the 2026-27 academic year and noted "full competition starting in Spring 2029," leaving the possibility of abbreviated campaigns before then. The release also said the school anticipates that the Middle Atlantic Conference will sponsor a women's flag football championship by the time it joins in spring 2029.
Two future MAC programs already sponsor flag football. Marywood University (PA) and Neumann University (PA) currently compete in the NCAA Division III Atlantic East Conference. Both schools will join the MAC as full members beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The MAC will have 18 full members next year, and given the growth of the sport, it won't be long until more schools announce the addition of flag football.
Flag football is seeing unmatched growth in college athletics. Across all governing bodies, more than 235 club and varsity teams will compete during the 2025-26 academic year. Beyond this year, there are already 60 new club or varsity teams that will launch in the coming years. That number is expected to continue growing as the NCAA is expected to add flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program in January 2026. The NAIA will hold its first invitational tournament in spring 2026, after classifying flag football as an emerging sport from 2021 through 2025. Flag football could become an NCAA championship sport by 2028, the same year the NFL is expected to announce new professional flag leagues and the sport makes its Olympic debut.