The NCAA women’s athletics committee made a recommendation on Wednesday that divisions I, II and III sponsor the legislation to add Football Flag to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.
With the vote of the Committee, the recommendation will pass through the governance structures of the NCAA. The three divisions will now have the opportunity to sponsor the legislation to advance sport. The divisions will examine updated statistics, current sports sponsorship numbers, financial considerations, potential deadlines and other relevant subjects before making a final decision on the opportunity to add flag football to the emerging sports program.
Once in the program, a sport must have at least 40 schools sponsoring sport at the university level and meet the minimum requirements of the competition and participation (as reflected in NCAA sports sponsorship and participation) to be considered for championship status. In January, the three divisions moved the female struggle of the program to the 91st NCAA championship, the first championship planned for the winter of 2026.
“The growth of Football Flag will be exciting to look in the NCAA while female sports continue to generate more visibility and opportunities for student-athletes to excel academically and athletically,” said Radean Hill, Chairman of the Committee of Female athletics and Executive Associate Director of Athletics in Charlotte. “The female athletics committee wishes to thank RCX Sports Foundation and USA Football for having submitted the request. CWA is looking forward to reporting football added to the Emerging Sports for Women program and watching the fascinating journey from sport to championship status from NCAA to the future. ”
Flag football was one of the fastest growth sports in the country. At least 65 NCAA schools sponsor women’s football at the club or university level this year, with more to join 2026. Football flag was also added as a sport for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Currently, there are five sports in the Emerging Sports for Women: Acrobatics and Tumbling, Equestrian program (divisions I and II), rugby, stuntman and triathlon. The program is intended to help schools offer more athletics opportunities to women and more sports sponsorship options to schools.
Since the creation of the program in 1994, based on a recommendation from the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force, five female sports in addition to the female struggle have obtained the status of NCAA championship: Rowing (1996), Ice Hockey (2000) , Water Polo (2000), Bowling (2003) and Beach Volleyball (2015). During the academic year 2023-24, these five sports collectively included nearly 14,000 students athletes, or around 6% of the total students in competition in the NCAA female championship, according to data more recent.