Daemen Athletics Announces The Addition of Flag Football

5/20/2026 10:00:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Director of Athletics Communications | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

AMHERST, N.Y. -- Daemen University will add women's flag football as the 17th NCAA sponsored sport offered at the institution, Vice President for Athletics Traci Murphy announced on Wednesday. A national search for the first head coach is already underway, with the program set to debut during the 2027-28 academic year.

Named an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women in January, flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Once in the Emerging Sport for Women program, the NCAA requires that the sport must have a minimum of 40 schools sponsoring it at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participation requirements to be considered for NCAA championship status. The NCAA announced on Tuesday that flag football received a formal recommendation to become an NCAA championship sport, with the NCAA Committe on Access, Opportunity and Impact voting at its spring meeting to recommend Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a National Collegiate Flag Football Championship.

"Daemen University is proud to embrace the future of collegiate athletics by adding women's flag football to our varsity lineup. Regionally, girls' flag football has experienced explosive growth, highlighted by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association now offering an official varsity state championship. By launching this program, Daemen provides a vital, historic platform for these talented high school graduates to continue their athletic journeys," Murphy said.

In Western New York high schools, flag football was introduced as a sport in the spring of 2022 and earned championship status in 2024, becoming one of the fastest sports to gain a state championship in recent history.

"Our flag football student-athletes will compete at the brand new Royal Park turf facility, perfectly balancing the programs that call it home alongside men's and women's soccer in the fall and women's lacrosse in the spring. We are thrilled to pioneer this NCAA emerging sport at the Division II level, offering young women a premier opportunity to compete, lead, and achieve excellence as Wildcats."

"Women's flag football is an exciting emerging sport in the NCAA, and its rapid growth speaks to the demand and passion of today's student-athletes. The East Coast Conference is energized to support that growth, helping to expand opportunities and elevate the sport across our campuses," East Coast Conference Commissioner Jessica Grasso said.

"The ECC will add flag football to its portfolio of championship offerings once we meet the required NCAA sponsorship level. By Daemen adding this opportunity to its student-athletes, we anticipate this will occur in the near future."

Six institutions are required to have flag football in order for the ECC to offer a championship season. Fellow ECC affiliates D'Youville University, Roberts Wesleyan University, St. Thomas Aquinas College and the College of Staten Island all have flag football teams, making Daemen the fifth program in the conference.

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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