Three Schools Adding Women's Flag Football
Agnes Scott College (GA), Indiana Wesleyan University, and Thiel College (PA) announced the addition of women's flag football teams. Agnes Scott and Thiel compete in NCAA, while Indiana Wesleyan competes in the NAIA.
Agnes Scott will add a women's flag football team and start competing in the 2026-27 academic year. The school plans to announce the program's first head coach at a later date. ASC is the third school from the NCAA Division III Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) to add a flag football team. The other two schools are Huntingdon College (AL) and LaGrange College (GA).
Indiana Wesleyan will add a varsity flag football team and begin competing during the 2026-27 academic year. IWU is the second team from the NAIA's Crossroads League to add flag football, following the University of Saint Francis (IN), which will begin competing in 2025-26.
Thiel College will add a club team for the current 2025-26 academic year. Thiel is the sixth team from the NCAA D-III Presidents' Athletic Conference to add a flag football team. Allegheny College (PA), Bethany College (WV), Chatham University (PA), Franciscan University of Steubenville (OH), and Saint Vincent College (PA) also offer club teams and will compete this year.
More than 220 schools are expected to offer a club or varsity flag football team during the 2025-26 academic year. Looking ahead, over three dozen schools have lined up a flag football program to begin competing in the 2026-27 academic year. The sport continues to grow at the collegiate level and beyond.
The NAIA has moved flag football from an emerging sport to an invitational sport. The first invitational tournament will take place in the spring of 2026. The NCAA is expected to be added to the NCAA's Emerging Sports for Women Program early in 2026 and could achieve NCAA Championship status in 2028. Before flag football makes its Olympic debut during the first week of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the NFL is expected to launch professional men's and women's flag football leagues.