Women’s flag football coming to Division I school in California

Cal Poly, a member of the Big West, will add women’s flag football as a varsity sport — potentially by 2027.

Another Division I school is pursuing the addition of women’s flag football.

In a letter to the campus community published on Friday, Cal Poly athletic director Don Oberhelman said the school could add women’s flag football as a varsity sport as early as 2027.

Cal Poly is the sixth Division I school at the NCAA level to announce its intentions of starting a women’s flag football team. The members of the Big West follow Alabama State, Long Island, Mercyhurst, Mount St. Mary’s, and UT Arlington.

Back in February, flag football made a significant stride in gaining ground in the college ranks when the NCAA recommended adding it to its Emerging Sports for Women program. Should flag football be granted status in the program at the 2026 NCAA convention, there could be a ways to go before fans see something like an NCAA Tournament for the sport.

Still, as flag football barrels toward its debut at the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles, interest in it seems to be growing at the collegiate level.

Nebraska AD Troy Dannen said folks should keep “a close eye” on women’s flag football after hosting an exhibition contest at the Husker Games in April. Last month, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips told SB Nation the conference is “watching” what’s happening in flag football and the conference has had “a few preliminary conversations” about the sport.

On May 9, 2024, in an email obtained by SB Nation through an open records request, NCAA Senior Vice President Felicia Martin wrote to Division I athletic directors: “The combination of flag football’s Olympic recognition and its expanding popularity among youth and high school players has elevated its importance as one of NCAA President Charlie Baker’s top priorities for the Association.” The email included stats about the sport’s growth and links to videos and a learning portal.

In announcing the addition of flag football at Cal Poly, Oberhelman wrote that he hopes that being early on investing in the sport and building a program quickly will allow it to “embark on a legacy of success” similarly to how the Mustangs have performed in beach volleyball “which continues to pay dividends.” Beach volleyball is a sport that also grew from the NCAA’s Emerging Sports for Women program and now has championship status. The Mustangs have been to five NCAA Tournaments for beach volleyball and have advanced to the national semifinals in each of the past two years.

Cal Poly is also elevating its STUNT program from club status to a varsity sport.

“Both of these additions are part of the university’s long-term planning to increase opportunities for female student-athletes,” Oberhelman wrote. “This is particularly important as Cal Poly’s female student population has increased over the last 12 years from 42 percent of enrollment to 51 percent.”

While just a handful of Division I schools have added women’s football, many more have at the Division II and III levels.

This past season, the Division III America East held a full varsity season of women’s flag football capped off with a conference championship, becoming the first NCAA league to do so. Jacqie McWilliams-Parker — commissioner of the CIAA, the Division II HBCU conference — told SB Nation that she hopes to have flag football as a varsity sport in the league during the 2026-27 academic year.