Hastings, Slippery Rock Adding Varsity Women's Flag Football
Hastings College (NE) will add a varsity women's flag football team beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. Hastings is the third school in Nebraska to add a flag football program, following fellow NAIA and Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) members College of Saint Mary and Midland University.
Slippery Rock University (PA) will add a varsity flag football team and begin competing in the 2027-28 academic year. SRU currently has a club team and will start fundraising in early 2026 to help launch the varsity program. Slippery Rock is the third team from the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to add a flag football team, following PennWest California (varsity team) and Seton Hill University (club team).
Hastings plans to compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) when it joins in 2027. The KCAC will house 11 teams for the 2026 spring season, including Baker University (KS), Bethel College (KS), Cottey College (MO), Graceland University (IA), Hesston College (KS), Kansas Wesleyan University, Midland University (NE), Ottawa University (KS), Southwestern College (KS), the University of Saint Mary (KS), and William Woods University (MO).
The 2027 spring season could see an additional four teams join the KCAC: the College of Saint Mary (NE), Hastings, McPherson College (KS), and Oklahoma Wesleyan University. That would put the KCAC at 15 teams, which could lead to the introduction of divisions as seen on the men's side.
Of the 15 teams scheduled to be in the KCAC in 2027, three teams are from the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). Those three are Baker (KS), Graceland (IA), and William Woods (MO). Fellow HAAC members, Missouri Baptist University and William Penn University, will launch programs in the 2026-27 academic year. The HAAC may be inclined to begin sponsoring flag football in spring 2027, with the addition of one more varsity team, and considering how the NAIA structures its invitational tournament.
The NAIA was the first collegiate governing body to add flag football back in 2021 when it made it an emerging sport. In spring 2026, the NAIA will have its first invitational tournament. Currently, there are 36 NAIA flag football programs, with an additional 13 slated to start in spring 2027. The NCAA is expected to add flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program in January 2026, which could provide a pathway to Championship Sport status as early as 2028.