Big South Conference Will Sponsor Flag Football in Spring 2028
The Big South Conference is the first NCAA Division I conference to sponsor flag football. The Big South announced it will conduct its first varsity championship in the 2027-28 academic year.
The Big South hasn't been shy about its desire to add flag football. Radford University (VA) added a club team in spring 2025, becoming the first school in the conference to offer the sport at the club or varsity level. In October, commissioner Sherika Montgomery spoke about the conference's ambitions to add flag football and noted several schools were working with the NFL to add teams. It wasn't long until the announcements started coming in.
Two weeks after the NCAA added flag football to the Emerging Sports for Women program in January, Charleston Southern University (SC) announced the addition of a varsity team beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. In early February, another pair of Big South teams announced new teams for 2026-27: the University of North Carolina at Asheville would add a club team, while the University of South Carolina Upstate would add a varsity team.
In mid-February, Gardner-Webb University (NC) announced it would add a varsity women's flag football team, but did not provide a timeline. Last week, High Point University (NC) became the sixth Big South member to add a team, announcing a club team for the 2026-27 academic year. Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Radford, UNC Asheville, and USC Upstate are expected to compete at the varsity level in the 2027-28 academic year. The Big South noted some current members may add a flag football varsity program.
The conference is also looking to add regional affiliate members for flag football. Possibilities include the current D-I program, Mount St. Mary's University (MD), which competes in the NCAA D-II Conference Carolinas as an affiliate. The University of North Alabama could be another possible affiliate, since the United Athletic Conference doesn't sponsor the sport. UNA will launch its varsity program in the 2026-27 academic year. Other possibilities include new programs that haven't been officially announced yet.
“Women’s Flag Football represents more than just a new addition to our sport offerings – it is a dynamic and rapidly emerging sport fueled by access and opportunity,” stated Sherika Montgomery. “The Big South Conference is proud to be at the forefront of this growth, providing a competitive platform for student-athletes to excel while helping shape the future of the game across our region and beyond.”
The Big South isn't expected to be the only D-I conference to sponsor the sport for long. The Big 12 Conference is reportedly exploring adding the sport, according to a report from Sports Business Journal. The report came on the same day the Big South made its announcement. As of this posting, 13 NCAA conferences currently sponsor the sport or have plans to offer varsity flag football in the coming years.
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.