Sacramento State Adding Women's Flag Football

Sacramento State (California State University, Sacramento) will add women's flag football beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The Hornets will compete as a club team for the 2026-27 academic year and transition to a varsity program in the 2027-28 academic year. Mark Orr, Director of Athletics, said:

"We are ecstatic to announce the addition of a women's flag football team. At Sacramento State, we are inspired to provide opportunities for our current and prospective students to fulfill their goals and pursue their passions while enrolled at our institution. The addition of a women's flag football team is in direct response to demonstrated interest from young women on campus who want to compete on the field as the sport grows in popularity across the state and across the country." 

Sacramento State is the fourth school from the NCAA Division I Big West Conference to add a club or varsity team. Cal Poly SLO will compete as a varsity team in the 2026-27 academic year, while Cal Baptist and Long Beach State both offer club teams. In addition to those four teams, seven other NCAA Division I schools in California offer club teams: Saint Mary's College of California, San Diego State University, UC Davis, UCLA, UC San Diego, the University of California, Berkeley, and USC.

At least 20 NCAA Division I schools have announced the addition of varsity flag football programs, albeit on different timelines. For the 2026-27 academic year, Alabama State University, Cal Poly (CA), Eastern Michigan University, Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ), Long Island University (NY), Manhattan University (NY), Mercyhurst University (PA), Mississippi Valley State University, Mount St. Mary's University (MD), the University of North Alabama, the University of South Carolina Upstate, and the University of Texas at Arlington will take the field.

Those dozen programs will be joined by at least six more in the 2027-28 academic year: Binghamton University (NY), Charleston Southern University (SC), Gardner-Webb University (NC), Radford University (VA), Sacramento State, the University of Nebraska, and the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The Big South Conference will also hold its first championship in spring 2028.

Jacksonville University is planning to transition its team from club to varsity status, but no definitive timeline is known. The Big 12 Conference is also exploring the addition of flag football as soon as 2028, with at least 6 teams competing. That would bring the number of varsity NCAA D-I programs to over 25.

The NCAA added women's flag football to the Emerging Sports for Women program in January 2026. In May, the NCAA formally recommended that women's flag football become a championship sport. That vote will take place in January 2027, with the first championship likely to take place in spring 2028.