Bowling Green and Michigan Adding Flag Football Club Teams
Two more NCAA Division I schools are launching women's flag football club teams and will begin competing in spring 2026. Bowling Green State University (OH) and the University of Michigan will add club programs and are slated to face off in late April. Both clubs have been working towards a spring start since late 2025.
Bowling Green is the second Mid-American Conference (MAC) member to add a team, following the University of Buffalo. Both schools have club teams. Bowling Green will be one of six schools in Ohio to compete this year: Franciscan (NCAA D-III), Heidelberg University (D-III), Hocking College (NJCAA), Ursuline College (D-II), and Wittenberg University (D-III). Four additional Ohio schools have announced a flag football program for the 2026-27 academic year: Baldwin Wallace University (D-III), Defiance College (NAIA), Lourdes University (NAIA), and University of Northwestern Ohio (NAIA).
Michigan competes in the Big Ten Conference, which now has 7 flag football programs. Penn State University, Rutgers University (NJ), UCLA, the University of Maryland, and USC have club programs, while the University of Nebraska will have a varsity program in the 2027-28 academic year. USC will be one of 8 NCAA Division I schools to compete in the inaugural Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic later this spring.
Michigan is one of three schools in the state to announce a flag football program. Siena Heights University (NAIA) will also compete in the 2026 spring season, but the university will close after the 2025-26 academic year. Saginaw Valley State University (D-II) will launch a varsity program in the 2026-27 academic year.
Flag football club teams have been springing up all over the NCAA D-I landscape this year, with more than 55 as of this posting. The NCAA's decision to add flag football to the Emerging Sports for Women program has led to additional growth beyond Nebraska's announcement. Charleston Southern University (SC) and Manhattan University (NY) are adding varsity programs over the next two seasons, while the aforementioned Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic was announced less than two weeks after the NCAA's decision.
Over 250 club and varsity flag football teams are expected to compete during the 2025-26 academic year across all collegiate governing bodies. That number is expected to be over 300 in the 2026-27 academic year, with over 45 new teams in the NCAA alone.