SUNY Old Westbury has announced the addition of a women’s intercollegiate flag football team set to take the field in the spring of 2026.
The school will join five other NCAA Division III Skyline Conference programs to add a team for next year.
“With the dramatic increase in popularity of flag football across Long Island and the nation, I am excited to announce Women’s Flag Football as our newest athletic offering,” SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy E. Sams said. “With this addition, we will be at the forefront of expanding another opportunity for women to succeed in and through sports.”
The women’s flag football program will compete at the club level in Spring 2026 before transitioning to varsity status in Spring 2027. Lenore Walsh, the school’s director of athletics, said that the gradual transition will allow the sport to gain popularity.
“When we’re adding a new sport, we usually run it at the club level for a few years to gain interest, and then we transition it to varsity status,” she said. “You don’t wanna jump into something if you don’t know you already have the commitment.”
The school held an open house a few weeks ago when it was announced that there would be a women’s flag football team. Walsh said the program will include intramural players and that the school is expecting incoming freshmen to be interested in joining as well. Wash said the program will likely have a roster size of 14 to 20 players.
Walsh said the school is in the process of looking for a coach so that recruitment can begin for the program in the fall. She said that Division III schools commonly have dual-sport athletes, and that she says the flag-football team may look to add players from the school’s soccer and volleyball teams, which have their season in the fall.
Walsh said the school’s athletics department will also need to adjust to the addition of the varsity program.
“The whole flag football experience would be new for me and probably for my staff, but we have enough time to learn the game, learn what the game management needs are, and figure out equipment needs and more,” she said.
The NCAA recommends women’s flag football as an Emerging Sport for Women, and its status is expected to be granted in the coming year.
The NCAA says Emerging Sports for Women are recognized sports but do not have sanctioned NCAA Championships. At least 65 NCAA schools are already sponsoring women’s flag football at either the club or varsity level this year, far more than the 40-school minimum needed to qualify for the status, according to the NCAA.
Division I schools like Alabama State University and Mount St. Mary’s College have already announced women’s varsity flag football programs. The athletic director for the University of Nebraska hinted at the possibility of the school adding a team as well, according to reports.
“Our University’s mission seeks to promote greater accessibility and inclusivity, and that is true in athletics as much as academics,” Walsh said. “We’re just really excited to be a part of this momentum.”
