Erskine Athletics
Ben Auten

DUE WEST, S.C. – Erskine College announced today the addition of women’s flag football, becoming the eighth institution in Conference Carolinas to sponsor the sport. Conference Carolinas was the first NCAA Division I or II conference to announce plans to sponsor women’s flag football.

“We are excited about adding flag football to our sport opportunities for female students. Flag football is a fast-growing sport in popularity and participation, especially in the South,” Erskine Director of Athletics Mark Peeler said. “We look forward as we move ahead with seven other Conference Carolinas institutions to be the first NCAA Division II conference to sponsor flag football. With the support of the NFL, it is clear that now is the right time to bring flag football into our offerings.”

In July, Conference Carolinas announced the addition of women’s flag football as the league’s 30th sport with six members. Chowan University, Emmanuel University, Ferrum College, King University, Lees-McRae College and the University of Mount Olive announced the start of programs at the same time. Emmanuel begins competing in 2024-25 while the other institutions will start in 2025-26. In October, Barton became the seventh institution and will also start in 2025-26. Erskine becomes the eighth institution and will begin play in 2025-26.

“Conference Carolinas is thrilled that Erskine is adding women’s flag football bringing our sponsorship to eight schools,” Conference Carolinas Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “Flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and the southeast region and we are excited to lead the way in the NCAA.”

In 2024-25, it is anticipated that 20 NCAA institutions will be competing at the varsity level across all three divisions. At the NAIA level, there are 24 institutions currently participating women’s flag football and seven at the NJCAA level.

At the high school level, 13 states currently sanction women’s flag football, including Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida while North Carolina has pilot programs and South Carolina and Virginia have shown interest.

Additionally, at the high school level, the number of participants in girls flag football more than doubled from the 2022-23 school year to 2023-24. A total of 42,955 girls participated in flag football in 2023-24 compared to 20,875 the previous year – a 105 percent increase. Also, there has been a 173 percent increase from the 15,716 participants in 2021-22.

Women’s flag football is expected to be considered by the NCAA as an emerging sport in the next year.

The average roster size is approximately 25 players that will play 7-on-7. Teams score six points for a touchdown and can gain 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 NFL is a huge supporter of 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 flag football as championship sports, thanks to the work of the NFL and RCX Sports, the official operator of NFL FLAG.