United East Conference adds women’s flag football

Gallaudet's athletic conference, the United East, announced last week the anticipated addition of women's flag football as a conference-sponsored sport starting in the 2025-2026 academic year.

The United East becomes the second NCAA Division III conference to announce its sponsorship of women's flag football, and the fourth conference among all NCAA divisions.

The league will have at least five institutions participating at the club level in the spring of 2025, including Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Penn College, and Rosemont College.

"There is undoubted momentum and growth in women's flag football and we are extremely excited to begin sponsoring this sport in the United East," said United East Commissioner Stephanie Dutton. "Interest and engagement in women's flag football is exploding in our conference's geographic footprint, and we are eager to begin offering young women the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level."

Along with the addition of women's flag football, the United East has also rolled out a new flag football United East logo, courtesy of Skye Design Studios. This logo joins the suite of sport-specific United East logos found in the conference's style guide.

United East will assist in coordinating club-level competition with its five new programs in spring 2025. Once elevated to the varsity level, women's flag football will become the conference's 21st sport, with the first projected conference championship to be hosted in the spring of 2026.

The conference's addition of women's flag football has been coordinated with the National Football League and RCX Sports Foundation.

"The RCX Sports Foundation is excited to partner alongside the NFL and United East Conference to introduce women's flag football in spring 2025, supporting our mission to create greater accessibility and inclusivity in sports," said RCX Sports Foundation CEO Izell Reese. "Flag football is rapidly expanding at the collegiate level, helping solidify a robust pipeline for girls to play from youth sports through high school, college, and eventually the Olympics beginning [in 2028 in Los Angeles]. We're enthusiastic about the continued growth of women's flag [football] through this partnership with the United East Conference."

In 2024-2025, it is anticipated that upward of 15 NCAA institutions will be competing at the varsity level across all three divisions. At the NAIA level, there are 24 institutions currently participating in women's flag football and 12 at the NJCAA level.

At the high school level, 13 states currently sanction girls' flag football, and, over the last five years, participation in high school girls' flag football has grown by nearly 15 percent, and nearly 18 percent for ages 6-17.

The average roster size is around 25 players that will play 7-on-7. A contest will consist of four 12-minute quarters on a field that is 80 by 40 yards. The offense has four downs to cross each 20-yard line for a first down with an option to punt at third down. If unsuccessful, teams surrender possession to their opponent.

Teams score six points for a touchdown and can earn an extra one or two points for a set play from the five- or 10-yard lines. Players will wear tightly fixed flag belts with sockets and two pop flags on either side of their hips.

The National Football League supports the growth of flag football. Numerous NFL facilities and stadiums have been utilized for competitions and clinics, while several players have attended and engaged with athletes to grow the sport. Across the country this past year, more than 700,000 youth took part in NFL FLAG leagues, with nearly 500,000 of those athletes being female, and 13 states have now sanctioned girls' high school flag football as championship sports, thanks to the work of the NFL and RCX Sports Foundation, the official operator of NFL FLAG.