Women's flag football expands in the Carolinas
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Photos: Courtesy of Conference Carolinas
Flag football is on the rise across the United States.
Why it matters: Flag football is expanding in both access and popularity, and it's serving as a catalyst for the growth of girls' and women's sports.
Catch up quick: The NCAA named flag football an emerging sport for women in January. Locally, Greenville, South Carolina-based Conference Carolinas will play its inaugural women's flag football season this spring.
Context: Flag football has been getting support from a range of big organizations. The NFL's Pro Bowl, its annual all-star showcase, moved to a flag football format in 2022.
- The Carolina Panthers have provided more than $1.3 million in grants for girls' pilot high school flag football programs since 2022, says Riley Fields, Carolina's director of community relations.
- Additionally, flag football will be an Olympic event at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
What they're saying: Many flag football athletes played other sports, including freshman Barton Bulldogs quarterback Sawyer Rigdon.
- Rigdon grew up in Wilmington and intended to play softball in college. Instead, she decided to pursue flag football.
Zoom in: Conference Carolinas, which is NCAA Division II, will be the first NCAA DI or DII to offer flag football at the varsity level, meaning it's not just a club or intramural sport.
- "People just see [flag football] as a club sport," Rigdon tells Axios. Now she and her teammates are waiting for the rest of the world to see the potential.
Flashback: Conference Carolinas commissioner Chris Colvin tells Axios he began considering adding women's flag football in early 2023 because of what he saw the NFL doing. After a year of exploration, it was a matter of getting at least six schools to commit to playing.
- "I put each one on the spot," Colvin tells Axios. "I said, 'If we had five [programs], would you be number six?'" It worked. Conference Carolinas announced plans to add women's flag football in July 2024.
- Schools needed time to hire coaches, among them, former NFL and Clemson running back Terry Allen. He's now the head coach at Emmanuel in Georgia.
The big picture: For women's flag football to succeed, it will take institutions getting behind it, Allen tells Axios. "The potential here is really unlimited," Allen says.
- Plus, the cost to launch a program is relatively low, Colvin says. He declined to share specific figures.
Zoom out: Callie Brownson, USA Football director of high performance & national teams, has seen this firsthand. Brownson coached with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL before joining USA Football, the sport's national governing body.
- Flag football creates a new access point for girls to play sports, Brownson says.
Between the lines: There has been significant investment in girls' and women's sports in recent years. Charlotte has a professional women's soccer team, a professional women's basketball team that will tip off in May, and a bid to host the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup.
What's next: Conference Carolina's season, which includes 11 programs competing, this spring will culminate in a conference championship April 17-19 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham.
What we're watching: The CIAA, which is based in Charlotte and is also an NCAA DII program, will add flag football as a varsity sport in 2026-27. Johnson C. Smith University will be among the schools participating. The program is currently playing at the club level and is in its second year.
