Frontier Could Sponsor Flag in Future; Grace U. and North American Adding Varsity Teams
The NAIA's Frontier Conference may look to sponsor women's flag football in the future, according to Mayville State University (ND) Athletic Director Rocky Larson. Larson also provided more details about Mayville State's plans for the first few seasons.
The Frontier Conference is led by a flag football ally in Scott Crawford, who was previously the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) commissioner. In Crawford's tenure with the KCAC, the conference began sponsoring the sport in spring 2021. Ottawa University (KS) won the first five NAIA flag football titles before Warner University (FL) from the Sun Conference broke through this spring. Larson provided a possible timeline of "2 to 3 years" before the Frontier would sponsor flag football, but stressed the conversations are in the very early stages.
As it stands, Mayville State is the only school in the conference to offer a club or varsity team. The Comets are set to begin competing during the 2027 spring season as an independent varsity squad. Larson said the school plans to play 10-12 games and aims to have 15-20 players on the roster in year one. Larson noted the lack of NAIA opponents near North Dakota, which is unlikely to allow the Comets the chance to play a full NAIA schedule in spring 2027. He hopes the team will face some KCAC programs in spring 2027 and eventually play 15-17 games each season with 30 players on the roster.
Grace University Adding Flag Football
Grace University (CA) will add a varsity women's flag football program and begin competing in the 2026-27 academic year. The school is already recruiting players for next season.
Grace is in the process of launching an athletics program, which currently has five programs listed on its athletic website. The school is joining the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, and also plans to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) in the 2027-28 academic year.
Grace is the only USCAA school in California to offer flag football, but the new program will have plenty of in-state opponents to play. California has the most club and varsity programs, with nearly 50 teams when including future additions.
North American Adding Varsity Team
North American University (TX) will also be adding a varsity women's flag football team. The school did not state when the program will begin competing, but already has a head coach in place. Chelbi Curvey will lead the program after previously coaching flag football at James Madison High School in Houston, Texas. NAU Athletic Director, Kenneth Apande, stated:
"We are excited to officially begin building the Women's Flag Football program at North American University, and we believe Head Coach Chelbi Curvey is the perfect person to lead us into this new era.
Coach Curvey brings several years of valuable experience to NAU. She competed in flag football at Prairie View A&M University and in various competitive leagues, while also gaining coaching experience in a women's league and at James Madison High School. In addition, she currently serves as a flag football referee in the City of Houston, which adds another level of knowledge and leadership to her background.
Her passion for the game, commitment to student-athlete development, and overall experience will be tremendous assets to our university and growing program. We are excited to welcome Coach Curvey to the NAU family and look forward to the future of Women's Flag Football at North American University."
North American is the second school from the NAIA's Red River Athletic Conference to announce the addition of flag football. The other is Our Lady of the Lake University (TX), which will begin play in the 2026-27 academic year. Another RRAC member, the University of North Texas at Dallas, is currently seeking a head coach, but has not made an official announcement about a new program.
Despite the popularity of football in Texas, the state only has 17 club or varsity flag football programs. Half of those will begin competing in the 2026-27 academic year, as UNT Dallas and other new programs possibly join that list.
Indiana to Join NIRSA League
The NIRSA Women's Flag Football Club League for the 2026-27 academic year is now up to 37 teams with Indiana University's addition. The other 36 teams have been announced in waves since the new league was revealed earlier this month.
The original announcement regarding the partnership with the NFL had an initial list of 14 schools: Bowling Green State University (OH), Clemson University (SC), Coastal Carolina University (SC), Florida Atlantic University, Grand Canyon University (AZ), North Carolina A&T State University, Pennsylvania State University, Radford University (VA), Texas Southern University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of North Florida, and University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
The list grew to 24 when another 10 schools were announced for the 2026-27 academic year: Arizona State University, Florida State University, North Carolina Central University, the University of Albany (NY), the University of Colorado, the University of Denver (CO), the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of South Florida.
Another 7 additions last week pushed the tally to 31: Duke University (NC), Georgia Southern University, North Carolina State University, Old Dominion University (VA), Plymouth State University (NH), the University of Michigan, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The most recent 5 additions came this week to push the league up to 36 teams ahead of Indiana's announcement: Florida International University, Georgia College & State University, the University of Arizona, UCLA, and the University of Delaware. The current count of 37 teams won't last long as more teams will be added before the end of the month.
More details regarding the schedules and end-of-season championship set for April 2027 will be provided at a later date. Teams interested in competing in NIRSA's women's flag football club league can reach out to National Flag Football Manager Nik Sandona via email at nik.sandona@nirsa.org.