Saint Leo Adding Flag Football

Saint Leo University will add women's flag football beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The Lions are located in St. Leo, Florida, and are a member of the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference. Saint Leo is the fourth school from the SSC to add flag football as a club or varsity sport along with Barry University, Nova Southeastern University, and the University of Tampa.

The school also announced that Eli Taliafero will be the head coach. Taliafero was previously the head coach of South Florida's women's flag football club team.

The state of Florida will have two dozen club and varsity flag football teams by the start of the 2026 spring season. Saint Leo is one of nearly 80 schools adding the sport next academic year, in addition to the more than 100 teams currently competing in 2025.

In February, the NCAA recommended that flag football join the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, which provides a pathway to becoming a championship sport. All three divisions could end up sponsoring a championship sport in the future but require a minimum of 40 schools at the varsity level. Flag football will also make its Olympic debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.