The next college football power is being built on campuses from coast to coast. Not tackle, but in women’s flag football.
New programs are game planning and rosters full of new players will be taking snaps this fall into spring to possibly become your in 2028.
Women’s is on the fast track to gaining championship-sport status from the NCAA. There could be a national title game as early as spring 2028, before the , where flag football will make its Olympic debut.
Flag football currently falls under the NCAA’s 鈥渆merging sports鈥� umbrella with more than 120 schools slated to field a squad this academic year. There will be a vote in January on all levels 鈥� Division I, II and III 鈥� to lock in the sport’s addition. It’s already gained championship status on the NAIA level through a decision this summer and a title game will be held in May.
Schools on every level are already busy assembling coaches, players and recruits 鈥� assessing name, image and likeness potential as well as schedules and logistics 鈥� to get a head start.
The first sanctioned champion in the sport might very well be a school that鈥檚 not exactly known as a football factory. Maybe a Cal Poly, which is famous for astronauts (think: ) but has already recruited two of the top players in the country to campus.
Or maybe a program with a tackle-football pedigree such as Nebraska, which hired as head flag football coach after she led Ottawa University (Kansas) to five national NAIA crowns.
As for the next star? It just might be that intramural sensation on campus who played in high school. Or a player from the youth pipeline who’s perhaps from a team backed by the NFL. Or one suiting up for a national team as part of .
鈥淔or so long, flag football was seen as just the female version of football or the easier version of football,鈥� said Maci Joncich, a quarterback/receiver for Cal Poly and a member of USA Football’s national squad. 鈥淣ow, it鈥檚 getting the respect it deserves.鈥�
The stars of tomorrow
Rod Sherman was brought on board with his wife, Kristen, in March to oversee the program at Cal Poly (notable alum: ). A longtime high school football coach, Rod Sherman once mentored NFL standout . Sherman also helped his wife oversee a successful high school women鈥檚 flag football program in California.
They’re already assembling an All-Star roster, landing Team USA receiver/safety and Joncich. in Florida and Joncich from Florida, where she played for the club team. Team meetings, practices and lift sessions start this month as they prepare for a spring season. The Mustangs are slated to play a 24-game varsity schedule that’s still being finalized with planned trips to Texas, New York, North Carolina and Arizona.
Looking down the road to a looming NCAA title game, Joncich said: 鈥淚t’s so cool.鈥�
Women鈥檚 flag football is looking to join a list of sports that have gained NCAA championship status through the Emerging Sports for Women program, which was designed to bridge the participation gap between genders. The program has led to the inclusion of women’s sports such as ice hockey, wrestling, and, new this academic season, acrobatics and tumbling, along with stunt (derived from cheerleading). Flag football was approved as an emerging sport last January, effective immediately.
鈥淲e’re a very football-heavy country,鈥� said Gretchen Miron, who amplifies women鈥檚 sports through her role as the NCAA鈥檚 director of education and external engagement. 鈥淪o for women and girls to move directly into this as participants rather than just as observers or contributors in other ways has been very exciting to see.鈥�
The NFL has thrown its weight behind the sport by sponsoring teams and tournaments. Last month, the NFL Flag Championships were held in Westfield, Indiana, where 350 squads 鈥� more than 3,500 girls and boys 鈥� from 13 countries took the field. It played well across ESPN platforms as the girls’ high school championship contest averaged 1.12 million viewers. College flag football coaches showed up to scout potential players.
鈥淗aving different visions of what (female players) can do because of what they鈥檒l see as possible by this current group of trailblazers that have done so much for this younger generation is symbolic of so much in our society,鈥� Sherman said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have to compromise on their quest to be great.鈥�
Flag football at the club level
Think of UCLA football and Hall of Fame names such as Troy Aikman spring to mind. is creating her own gridiron legacy as the president of the UCLA flag football club. The linebacker/receiver/communications major from scratch after playing in high school.
This club team could possibly become a foundation for the varsity squad. It’s not unprecedented. The men’s and women’s hockey teams for played club in the American Collegiate Hockey Association before transitioning to the Division I ranks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been surreal to help lay the groundwork for what I see as the next big sport,” Hill wrote in an email to The Associated Press. 鈥淎 lot of the girls who joined had never played flag football before, but turned out to be incredible athletes and have become incredible flag football players.鈥�
To assemble the squad, Hill relied on the assistance of NIRSA, an organization that provides resources for college club and intramural teams. It already has numerous schools signed on this season for women’s flag football as a club sport, ranging from Georgia to Florida State to Indiana ( ).
鈥淭he growth is incredible,鈥� said Pam Watts, the executive director of NIRSA. 鈥淭he pace is like something we鈥檝e never seen.”
Flag football is now sanctioned as a high school girls varsity sport in more than 20 states. What’s more, the NFL teams voted last December to support the .
USA Football . Joncich and Klam are heading to Germany this month as part of Team USA for the IFAF flag football world championships before returning to Cal Poly for classes and more flag football.
NFL legends are getting involved
NFL legends are also getting involved in women’s flag football. Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young has two daughters, Summer and Laila, who’ve shined in the sport.
鈥淭his game is made for girls,鈥� Young said at a recent camp he put together at a high school in Oakland with his foundation and through Sutter Health. 鈥淎t its roots, the tactics and the choreography, not the hitting, but the choreography, the roots of football, it鈥檚 made for girls.
鈥淣ow that it鈥檚 getting into college and you鈥檒l see it in the Olympics, there will be an explosive effect to it. The girls are going to thrive.鈥�
More than 68,800 girls played high school flag football in 2024, according to a participation survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
鈥淭he boys had the game forever,鈥� Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice said, “and now the girls have the opportunity.鈥�
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.
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