Historic Launch: Largest Collegiate Women’s Flag Football League Debuts

The landscape of collegiate sports keeps shifting. The latest milestone? The largest collegiate women’s flag football league in the United States just got announced.

The New York Jets and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) are leading the charge here. Their goal is to open new doors for female athletes and give the sport a real boost.

This league brings together 15 universities from different states and divisions. There’s already talk of adding more schools in the future.

Backing this effort is a hefty investment. The vision is to connect high school flag football with the professional stage, making the journey a little less daunting for young women.

The Genesis of a Groundbreaking Initiative

Quincy Williams, linebacker for the Jets, remembers growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, where football was everywhere. Now, he sees more hope for girls—including his own daughter—who can finally play the game too.

The Jets and ECAC are rolling out the league in February. Universities from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia are all in.

Supporting the Dream: Financial Backing and Vision

The league wouldn’t exist without a $1 million investment from the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation, thanks to Jets owner Woody Johnson. Each school gets a grant to cover gear, uniforms, coaches’ pay, and travel costs.

Dan Coonan, ECAC Commissioner, says this funding changed everything. Without it, the league just wouldn’t have happened.

A History of Support for Girls’ Flag Football

The Jets have backed girls’ flag football since 2011, starting with a varsity high school league in New York. Since then, they’ve helped create over 260 teams, even reaching England and Ireland.

Jesse Linder, the Jets’ VP of community relations, stresses the need for steady opportunities for female athletes—especially after high school but before the international level.

Filling the Collegiate Gap

Linder and the Jets noticed there wasn’t much for women’s flag football in college. They reached out to ECAC Commissioner Dan Coonan, who had already been thinking about starting a league.

Coonan emailed athletic directors at all 200 conference schools. In just ten days, 15 schools jumped on board.

The Pioneering Universities

The first season will feature a mixed group of schools, including:

• Allegheny College
• Eastern University
• Franciscan University
• Kean University
• Long Island University
• Mercy University
• Mercyhurst University
• Montclair State University
• Mount St. Mary’s University
• Penn State Schuykill

Five more—Caldwell University, Fairleigh Dickinson, Dominican University, Union College, and Sweet Briar College—plan to join by 2027. The hope is to hit at least 20 teams in the first four years. Linder and Coonan seem pretty confident that’ll happen fast.

Setting the Stage for Future Growth

This league could set the tone for college sports, especially since the NCAA is thinking about making women’s flag football an emerging sport in January. Regular-season games will use a 7-on-7 format and take place on campus from February to April.

The Jets will host the playoff tournament at their facility in May. Down the road, they want future postseasons at MetLife Stadium.

Leadership and Visionary Support

Callie Brownson, who once interned with the Jets and became the first woman hired as a full-time NCAA Division I coach, will advise the Jets’ flag football program. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also announced plans for professional flag football leagues for women and men before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where flag football will finally debut.

A Bright Future for Women’s Sports

ECAC Commissioner Dan Coonan says the desire and talent for women’s flag football have always been there. But honestly, it needed someone with vision to bring it to college sports.

Women’s sports are picking up real momentum these days. This new league feels like a big leap forward.