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NAIA to launch women’s flag football as competitive sport in association with NFL
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Women’s flag football will be a competitive, varsity sport at the NAIA level beginning in 2021, according to a report from MontanaSports.com. There will be 15 teams who will participate to start the new sport.
The NAIA will become the first college sports association to promote women’s flag football as a varsity sport. It comes after the NFL and Reigning Champs Experiences agreed to a two-year partnership with the NAIA to help launch the initiative.
“Football is for everyone,” NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said in May. “This groundbreaking and historic joint venture provides an opportunity for the values, fun and competitive environment of football to be enjoyed as a varsity sport by female student-athletes attending NAIA institutions across America.”
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, 15 teams will participate in the association’s newest sport. Three of those schools are HBCUs. Each school will receive $15,000 from the NFL to support the sport.
15 NAIA schools will play women's flag football, the association's newest sport. In partnership with @NFL the programs will each get $15K from the league. Three of the schools are HBCUs.
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) June 29, 2020
“The NAIA is thrilled to partner with the NFL and RCX in launching women’s flag football,” said Jim Carr, NAIA president and CEO. “This is a fantastic opportunity for our members to expand their athletics programming with support from valuable partners like RCX and one of the most relevant and successful professional sports leagues in the world.”
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB