Welcome to the April 21 edition of the women's flag football newsletter here at Collegiate Flag Football. This will cover news between April 14 and April 20, 2025. We will take a look at the various stories and happenings across the sport...

Additions This Week

Heidelberg University (OH) will add women's flag football for the 2026 spring season. The team will compete at the club level in the first year and potentially become a varsity program for the 2027 spring season.

Missouri Valley College (MO) is looking to add women's flag football for the 2025-26 academic year, according to the school's student newspaper. Students have been working with Athletic Director Scott Queen to establish the sport. The school will provide additional information at a later date. MVC is a member of the NAIA.

Neumann University (PA) will change NCAA Division III conferences in 2026-27, moving from the Atlantic East Conference to the Middle Atlantic Conferences. The Atlantic East is among the few NCAA conferences that sponsor flag football. It is not known if Neumann's flag football team will remain in the Atlantic East, compete in the MAC, or compete in a different conference.

The University of Vermont is looking to add a club flag football team and is holding its first general meeting on April 30. Vermont would be the second America East Conference (NCAA D-I) team to sponsor flag football, with UAlbany also having a club team.

Coaching News

Florida A&M's club football team is seeking coaches for the 2025-26 academic year. Those interested can review the application form here.

Heidelberg University (OH) will have Maddie McLaughlin help develop the flag football team in its early club team stage.

Nobel University (CA) has hired Brooke Kalama as the first head coach in program history. Nobel will begin competing in the NCCAA during the 2026 spring season.

Reinhardt University (GA) has parted ways with head coach Tyrone Poole. Poole was hired in July 2024 and led the Eagles to a 4-8 overall record in his lone season during the 2025 spring campaign. Willie McCloud was named the interim head coach.

Shelton State Community College (AL) has hired Doug Rogers as the school's first head coach. Rogers was previously the head coach of Vestavia Hills High School for the previous four seasons. Shelton State will begin competing in the upcoming 2025-26 academic year.

Conference Tournaments

Congrats to Keiser University (FL) for winning the 2025 Sun Conference Flag Football Championship! The Seahawks defeated top-seeded and host Thomas (GA) 33-15 to capture the school's second straight title and third overall Sun Conference flag football championship.

The four-team Atlantic East Conference tournament field is set for this weekend. Marymount (VA) will host as the top seed with Eastern (PA), Centenary (NJ), and Immaculata (PA) as the other participants. The full bracket can be found here.

The Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) of the NJCAA has its three-team tournament on Saturday, April 26. Florida Gateway College is the top seed and host after winning the regular season championship. FGC will face the Pasco-Hernando State and Daytona State winner to determine the FCSAA champion. The bracket can be found here.

The NAIA's Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is also taking place this weekend in Riverside, Missouri. Ottawa (KS) is the top seed after going an undefeated 15-0 during the regular season. The Braves have been the best flag football program in the relatively short history of the sport in college, having won the previous four KCAC tournament titles and the previous four NAIA championships. The eight-team KCAC bracket can be seen here.

The 2025 NAIA Finals will be held from Monday, May 5, through Thursday, May 8, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Future Camps and Clinics

The New England Patriots will host a Talent ID Camp on Sunday, April 27. The Camp will be held at Gillette Stadium and has a registration deadline of Friday, April 18.

Washington Adventist University will host a women's flag football combine on Sunday, April 27, from 10 AM through 1 PM. The combine will take place in Takoma Park, Maryland, at the WAU turf field. Washington Adventist will begin competing during the 2026 spring season.

The Indianapolis Colts will also host a Talent ID Camp on Sunday, May 4. This camp is free to attend and will be held at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana. The deadline to sign up is Friday, April 25.

SUNY Geneseo (NY) will host a Talent ID Camp on Sunday, May 4, from 11 AM through 2 PM. The deadline to register is Friday, May 2.

The Kansas City Chiefs will host their NFL FLAG College Showcase on Tuesday, May 6, from 5:30 PM through 8:30 PM. The event is free to attend with a maximum of 200 participants.

In conjunction with the Chicago Bears, the Rockford Park District (Illinois) is hosting a flag football camp on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 10 AM to 12 PM. Sign up is free, and the camp will feature various workouts, drills, and skills tests.

From Reinhardt University's social media account: there will be several Flag Football Skills challenges hosted in May at the following cities in Atlanta, LaGrange, and Macon, Georgia.

There will be a College ID Camp hosted by Bruce Mapp in McKinney, Texas, on Saturday, June 14. The "Put HER on the Mapp" camp will provide drills, coaching, scouting, and training sessions. Arizona Christian (AZ), Baker (KS), Concordia (TX), Keiser (FL), Texas Wesleyan (TX), and Saint Mary (KS) will be attending the camp.

Southern Utah University is hosting its first girls' flag football tournament on Monday, June 16, and Tuesday, June 17, as part of the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games (USG). The tournament is split into high school varsity, junior varsity, and middle school, with registration ending on Monday, May 26. The USG plans to invite coaches from around the region to attend the tournaments.

Warner University (FL) and Webber International (FL) will host a Girls Flag Football camp from Wednesday, June 18, through Friday, June 20.

The University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas, will host the Nike BallHER flag football camp from June 24 to June 26, 2025. Baker (KS), Mars Hill (NC), and Ottawa (KS) will also have representatives in attendance.

Millersville University (PA) is hosting a camp from June 26 through 29, 2025, as noted by Cedar Crest College (PA) in nearby Allentown.

Holy Family University (PA) will host two summer camps in June and July. The first camp will be held on Saturday, June 28, and Sunday, June 29. The second camp will be held on Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13.

High School Flag Football Updates

Washington became the 15th state to sanction flag football as a high school sport. Flag football will officially become a sanctioned sport on August 1, 2025. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee have also sanctioned the sport. North Carolina will discuss whether to sanction it later this spring, while Louisiana recently approved a two-year pilot program.

The state of New Mexico is not considering the sponsorship of girls' flag football at the high school level. Dusty Young, the executive director of the New Mexico Athletic Association, said that the interest level from its members isn't high enough to consider sponsorship. Young noted that interest from NFL teams would help build the sport but also expressed concerns about the long-term viability once the initial funding runs out.

IFAF Flag Football News

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) will host its first tournament in Africa in 2025. The IFAF African Championships will be hosted in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21. The tournament will feature games between Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria in men's, women's, and youth categories.

The IFAF European Flag Football Championships have seen a record number of entrants in the EURO FLAG 2025 tournament. 19 women's teams and 23 men's teams will compete in this year's championship, set to take place near Paris, France, from September 24 - 27.

NCAA Divisions Make Flag Football Proposal

In January 2025, the NCAA recommended that women's flag football be added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. This past week, the Management Councils for NCAA Division II and Division III announced they will sponsor a proposal at the 2026 NCAA Convention that would make it a reality. Once in the program, at least 40 schools need to sponsor the sport for it to be considered to move to NCAA Championship status. With an influx of flag football teams expected for the 2026 spring season, the sport is set to have over 225 club and varsity teams across the country.

Players of the Week Named

The Atlantic East Conference and KCAC named their players of the week, with the recipients listed below.

Atlantic East Offensive Player of the Week: Sydney Butcher (Immaculata)

Atlantic East Defensive Player of the Week: Rory Watson (Immaculata)

KCAC Offensive Player of the Week: Madysen Carrera (Ottawa)

KCAC Defensive Player of the Week: Cynthia Homs (Ottawa)

Sports Illustrated Hosting Women's Games

Sports Illustrated announced the inaugural SI Women's Games, which will begin competition in fall 2025. Women will compete in six sports — basketball, combat sports, flag football, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball — from Tuesday, October 28, through Sunday, November 2. The games will be hosted on ION, with additional information posted on SI's women's games website.

Sun Conference Names Players of the Year

The Sun Conference revealed its top players, coaches, and all-conference selections for the 2025 spring season. Keiser (FL) led the way with six first-team all-conference players, followed by St. Thomas (FL) and Thomas (GA) with five selections each, and Warner (FL) with three. The full list of selections can be found here.

Player of the Year - Ana Vincensini, Warner (second straight Sun Conference POTY)

Offensive Player of the Year - Jessica Finley, Warner

Defensive Player of the Year - Adrianna Cavalotti, Keiser

Coach of the Year - Chelsea Parmer, Thomas

Champion of Character - Esther Breitling, Warner

Top 25 Poll Released

WomensCollegeFlagFootball.com released its weekly top 25 women's flag football teams on Saturday. Ottawa (KS) is atop the list, followed by the newly crowned Sun Conference Champions Keiser (FL) in second. The Sun runner-up Thomas (GA) is third, St. Thomas (FL) from the Sun is fourth, and Milligan (TN) rounds out the top five. The full top 25 is here.

USA Football Named NGB

USA Football was named the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of American Football by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USA Football will oversee the training, development, competition, health, and safety of its athletes. The organization will also be responsible for selecting the national team players that represent the US at international tournaments, including the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.