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NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics made a recommendation on Wednesday that Divisions 1, 2 and 3 sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.
With the committee’s vote, the recommendation will move through the NCAA governance structures. All 3 divisions would have an opportunity to sponsor legislation to move the sport forward. The divisions will now review updated statistics, current sports sponsorship numbers, financial considerations, potential timelines and other relevant topics before they make a final decision on whether to add flag football to the Emerging Sports program.
Once it’s in the program, a sport must have a minimum of 40 schools sponsoring the sport at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participation requirements — as reflected in the NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Database — to be considered for championship status. In January, the 3 divisions moved women’s wrestling from the program to the NCAA’s 91st championship, with the first championship scheduled for the winter of 2026.
Flag football has been 1 of the fastest-growing sports in the country. At least 65 NCAA schools are sponsoring women’s flag football at either the club or varsity levels this year, with more slated to join in 2026. Flag football has also been added as a sport for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
