Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Elevating Flag Football to Varsity Sport
The NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) will elevate flag football to a varsity sport beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The announcement happened on the heels of flag football being added to the NCAA's Emerging Sports for Women program across all three divisions.
The CIAA sponsored flag football at the club level in spring 2025, when Winston-Salem State University (NC) defeated Fayetteville State (NC) 9-6 to win the inaugural title. The CIAA will conduct its second club championship in spring 2026 on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bluefield State University (WV), Bowie State University (MD), Claflin University (SC), Johnson C. Smith University (NC), Livingstone College (NC), and Virginia Union University also compete as club teams in the CIAA.
The CIAA is one of three NCAA Division II conferences to sponsor flag football. The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference will host its first varsity championship in spring 2027, while Conference Carolinas is set for its first championship later this spring. The recently announced multi-division Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) will also have several D-II schools compete.
Five other NCAA conferences currently, or will, sponsor varsity flag football. All five are at the D-III level. The Atlantic East Conference, the Empire 8, and the United East Conference will host championships this spring, while the American Southwest Conference and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) will add flag football in the 2026-27 academic year. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and the Middle Atlantic Conference are both planning to sponsor flag football in the future, although the timelines have yet to be confirmed.
Flag football was already a growing sport at the collegiate level before its addition to the Emerging Sports for Women program. The NFL is looking to start professional flag football leagues before the 2028 Olympics, where the sport makes its Olympic debut. Other NCAA members have already taken notice, with Nebraska becoming the first school from a Power 4 conference to add a varsity flag football team.