New York Jets, ECAC to Launch Flag Football League
The NFL's New York Jets and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) will launch a college flag football league beginning with the 2026 spring season. The Betty Wold Johnson Foundation is providing a $1 million grant to help start the league.
The ECAC sponsors 15 sports across all three NCAA Divisions and the newly formed flag football league maintains that ethos. The Jets announced that 15 teams from NCAA Division I, II, III, and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) will compete in the ECAC by the start of the 2027 spring season.
For the 2026 spring campaign, Allegheny College (PA), Eastern University (PA), Franciscan University (OH), Kean University (NJ), Long Island University (NY), Mercy University (NY), Mercyhurst University (PA), Montclair State University (NJ), Mount St. Mary's University (MD), and Penn State Schuylkill (PA) will compete.
Five more teams will join in spring 2027, including Caldwell University (NJ), Dominican University New York, Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ), Sweet Briar College (VA), and Union College (NY). Fairleigh Dickinson, Mercy, and Sweet Briar had not previously announced the addition of flag football.
The ECAC will begin play in February. The Jets will host a media day at MetLife Stadium before the season begins, with a USA Football Talent ID Camp scheduled to take place the next day. The season will continue in March and April with games hosted by ECAC schools. The season will conclude in May with an ECAC Championship Game scheduled for the first weekend (May 2 or 3). The 2026 Championship will be held at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, while future seasons will see the game played at MetLife Stadium.
Over 240 flag football clubs and varsity programs are expected to compete during the 2025-26 academic year. The number of teams will grow to more than 300 in 2026-27 as over 60 schools across the country have or will announce the addition of flag football.
All three NCAA divisions have recommended that flag football be added to the Emerging Sports for Women Program, with a vote expected at the NCAA's convention in January 2026. The NFL is expected to announce new professional flag leagues and flag football will make its Olympic debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.