iFlag and College Football Playoff to Host Flag Football Showcase
iFlag and the College Football Playoff are partnering to host the CFP Flag Football Showcase in January 2027. The inaugural showcase will take place from Friday, January 22 through Sunday, January 24, in Las Vegas. The showcase will take place in the run-up to the 2027 CFP National Championship on Monday, January 25. Ryan Allen Hall, senior director of public events and sponsorships for the CFP, said:
"Every year, CFP National Championship weekend brings together the biggest audience of our sport's calendar, and we wanted flag football to be a part of that itinerary. The CFP Flag Football Showcase is our opportunity to introduce fans who are already tuned in to college football toward what's next. There's no bigger stage we could offer these athletes."
The showcase will feature multiple 5-on-5 divisions for coed, men's, and women's teams, including professional, competitive, and recreational designations. Teams are guaranteed 3 games with pool play, and every team advances to single-elimination brackets. Registration opens on Wednesday, September 16, at 7 PM Eastern Time. iFlag founder and CEO, Charles Davis, added this:
"Working with the CFP represents another major milestone in the continued growth of flag football. The CFP has created one of the most exciting fan experiences in sports, and we're honored to introduce flag football to that environment. Giving athletes the opportunity to compete inside CFP Fan Central while experiencing the pageantry, traditions, and excitement of college football's biggest weekend is something truly special."
At the collegiate level, there will be separate showcases for varsity and club teams. Cal Poly, Eastern Michigan, Manhattan, and Nebraska are the four teams that will contest the varsity division. All four are launching varsity programs for the 2026-27 academic year. The club division will have 8 teams: Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Clemson, Michigan, Oklahoma, USC, and UCLA. Arizona State and USC both participated in the inaugural Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic in April.
Originally, the collegiate division was capped at four varsity teams and eight club teams. However, iFlag later added a third division open to club and varsity programs from all collegiate governing bodies. The newly added division will be capped at 32 teams, determined by the teams that register first on Wednesday, September 16, at 7 PM ET.
iFlag also noted that there will be three events in the next year that will allow teams to qualify for the 2028 College Football Playoff Flag Football showcase. Additional details regarding these qualifying events will be announced at a later date.
Flag football is growing rapidly at the collegiate level. More than 400 club and varsity programs are set to compete during the 2026-27 academic year across all collegiate governing bodies. In the NCAA, nearly 150 varsity programs will compete in the upcoming season, along with another 120 club teams. 14 NCAA conferences will sponsor women's flag football in the 2027 spring season.
The NCAA has formally recommended that women's flag football become a championship sport, with the first National Collegiate Championship expected to take place in spring 2028. The NCAA has already approved funding for the first championship.
Editor's note: The article was updated on Tuesday, September 1, to include the final two club teams, the newly added 32-team division for college programs, and the qualifying events.