Bridgeport, Jacksonville, and William Penn Adding Flag Football
Three more schools will be adding flag football teams over the next two academic years. Jacksonville University will begin competition in the current 2025-26 academic year, while the University of Bridgeport (CT) and William Penn University (IA) will start competing in 2026-27.
Jacksonville (FL) will add a women's flag football club team this academic year. The Dolphins are a member of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN), which now has four club teams. Along with Jacksonville, Eastern Kentucky University, Florida Gulf Coast University, and the University of North Florida sponsor club programs. The University of North Alabama is also a member of the ASUN, but it plans to sponsor a varsity team in 2026-27 when the school joins the United Athletic Conference as a full member.
Bridgeport will add a varsity flag football team for the 2026-27 academic year. According to the school's announcement, Bridgeport plans to compete in the NCAA Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). The CACC previously announced it was looking at adding a flag football championship for the 2027 spring season, but it only had five members at the time. Bridgeport becomes the sixth CACC to sponsor flag football, along with Caldwell University (NJ), Chestnut Hill College (PA), Goldey-Beacom College (DE), Holy Family University (PA), and Post University (CT).
The final school to add flag football is William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The Quakers will add a varsity program and begin competing in the 2026-27 academic year. WPU is a member of the NAIA's Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC), which now has six members sponsoring flag football. Baker University (KS), Graceland University (IA), and William Woods University (MO) currently compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) as affiliate members. Missouri Baptist University announced the addition of a varsity team earlier this week, while Missouri Valley College sponsors a flag football club team.
The NAIA and NCAA have seen incredible growth in flag football membership and continue to elevate the sport. The NAIA voted to make flag football an invitational sport in July, with the first invitational tournament set for spring 2026. The NCAA is expected to add flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program in January 2026 and become a championship sport as soon as 2028, right as the sport gets international attention. Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and the NFL is planning to launch professional flag football leagues before the 2028 Olympics.