Big 12 Looking to Add Flag Football
The Big 12 Conference and the NFL are exploring the possibility of the conference adding flag football as a sponsored sport beginning in 2028, according to Sports Business Journal. The Big 12 would become the second NCAA Division I conference to sponsor the sport, after the Big South Conference announced the addition earlier in the day. The Big 12 would become the first Power 4 conference to sponsor the sport.
In December, the Big 12 announced a strategic partnership with the NFL, which included growing flag football across the conference. No additional details were provided at the time. The Big 12 currently has four schools with student-run club teams: Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Colorado. The first season would see at least 6 teams compete, which could include some or all of the current club teams, as well as at least two new programs.
The NCAA added flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program in January 2026. Nebraska became the first school from a Power 4 conference to add a varsity flag football team just hours after the sport was added to the NCAA's program. The Power 4 conferences consist of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, and Southeastern Conference.
While the Big 12 could be the second NCAA D-I conference to add flag football, it would join nearly a dozen other NCAA conferences in growing the sport. The NCAA Division III Atlantic East Conference, D-II Conference Carolinas, D-III Empire 8, and D-III United East Conference sponsor varsity flag football. The D-II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) sponsors a club league, but will elevate the sport to varsity status beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The multi-divisional Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) also sponsors flag football for the current 2026 spring season.
Joining the CIAA in 2026-27 will be the D-III American Southwest Conference, D-II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), and D-III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). The D-I Big South and D-III Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) will join the list for 2027-28, while the D-III Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and Middle Atlantic Conference are planning to offer varsity flag football in the future.
Student-run club teams are most prevalent within NCAA Division I, with more than 70 expected to compete in the 2026-27 academic year. Since being added as an emerging sport, NCAA D-I schools have been adding varsity programs more frequently. Just four are varsity programs for the spring 2026 season: Alabama State University, Long Island University (NY), Mercyhurst University (PA), and Mount St. Mary's University (MD).
Another 13 D-I schools have announced the addition of varsity programs in the coming years, including Binghamton University (NY), Cal Poly (CA), Charleston Southern University (SC), Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ), Gardner-Webb University (NC), Manhattan University (NY), Mississippi Valley State University, Radford University (VA), the University of Nebraska, the University of North Alabama, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, the University of South Carolina Upstate, and the University of Texas at Arlington.
The NFL has been driving the growth of flag football at all levels. Youth participation has skyrocketed under the NFL FLAG program, which has led to 17 high school associations sanctioning flag football as a varsity sport. Another 22 associations have pilot programs. The growth at the collegiate level has been extensively documented, and now a professional league is on the horizon. The NFL selected TMRW Sports to operate the new league, with an expected launch occurring in the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where flag football will debut.