GLIAC to Sponsor Women's Flag Football
The NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) will sponsor women's flag football beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The GLIAC announced five members for the 2027 season and a sixth for the 2028 season. Kris Dunbar, GLIAC Commissioner, said:
"The GLIAC is proud to announce the addition of women's flag football, a sport that continues to experience tremendous growth and momentum across the country. This decision reflects our commitment to providing new competitive opportunities for student-athletes while supporting the evolution of collegiate athletics. We are excited to partner with our member institutions as we help shape the future of women's flag football and provide a platform for these student-athletes to excel both on the field and in the classroom."
The five schools competing in the 2026-27 academic year will be: Davenport University (MI), Lewis University (IL), Purdue University Northwest (IN), Saginaw Valley State University (MI), and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The University of Illinois Springfield will join in the 2027-28 academic year. Both Lewis and Illinois Springfield will be affiliate members in the GLIAC, as the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) doesn't sponsor women's flag football.
The GLIAC is the fifth NCAA Division II conference to add women's flag football. The Conference Carolinas played its first varsity season in the 2026 spring season, while the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) sponsored club flag football for the 2025 and 2026 spring seasons. The CIAA is elevating women's flag football to the varsity level for the 2026-27 academic year.
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), GLIAC, and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) have also announced the addition of flag football for the 2026-27 academic year. The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a multi-divisional conference that also sponsors women's flag football. The ECAC has teams from all three NCAA Divisions, as well as some club teams and programs outside the NCAA.
The NCAA is quickly moving towards making women's flag football a championship sport. After adding the sport to the Emerging Sports for Women Program in January 2026, the NCAA formally recommended that flag football become a championship sport in May. That vote will take place at the NCAA's January 2027 convention, with the first collegiate championship likely to be held in spring 2028.
NCAA Division II has over 60 teams lined up to compete in the 2026-27 academic year. Nearly 50 of those teams are varsity programs, with more set to arrive in 2027-28. The SIAC hasn't released the full list of teams competing in the 2026-27 academic year, which will lift the number of varsity teams over 55. Daemen University (NY), Franklin Pierce University (NH), North Greenville University (SC), Quincy University (IL), and Slippery Rock University (PA) are expected to add varsity teams in the 2027-28 academic year.