AMHERST, N.Y. -- Western New York native and longtime girls flag football coach
Rudy Fish has been named the inaugural head coach of Daemen University Women's Flag Football, Vice President of Athletics Traci Murphy announced today. Fish will start in August and will immediately begin recruiting to fill out a roster for competition beginning during the Spring 2028 semester. Daemen announced Women's Flag Football as the
17th NCAA sponsored sport offered at the institution in May.
"Coach Fish has been building girls flag football programs in Western New York since before most people knew the sport existed at the varsity level — at the middle school, varsity, travel, and all-star levels. One of the things that excited us most about Coach Fish is that he's not just a football coach — he's someone student-athletes and families across Western New York already know and trust. As we introduce flag football at Daemen, having a coach with deep roots in this community, and nearly a decade of experience developing young women in this sport specifically, gives our inaugural program real credibility from day one," Murphy said.
Fish is no stranger to building a program from the ground up. As a longtime football coach at the high school level in WNY, he was among the first to adopt girls flag football, partnering with the Buffalo Bills to begin a flag football program at Cheektowaga Central Middle School in 2017 where Fish served as the head coach for five years. In the early days of flag, Fish focused on developing foundational skills and football knowledge for his middle school athletes.
In 2022, Fish moved up to the high school level, building the girls varsity flag football program from the ground up right as flag was beginning to take off both in Western New York and at the the state level. Over three years with the Warriors, Fish helped recruit student-athletes from around the school involved in other sports to build and develop a competitive team along with planning practices, game strategies and player development activities all while promoting participation and program visibility.
In 2023, he was named one of the coaches of the WNY Lions Club High School All-Star Girls Flag Football game, a game that brings graduating seniors together to play one final high school game. Fish has served as a coach in the game every summer since 2023. After seven years as a flag coach at Cheektowaga Central, Fish made the move to the West Seneca school district where he coached the girls varsity flag team in 2025 and 2026.
On top of being a high school girls flag football coach, Fish has also served as a girls travel flag football coach through WNY Flash since January 2026, recruiting, evaluating and developing athletes from around Western New York and taking his teams on the road to play against competitive competition across the state and into Canada.
"I'm excited for the opportunity to be the first head coach in program history. Building a program from the beginning is a unique challenge, and I look forward to recruiting outstanding young women who want to compete at a high level while earning a great education at Daemen University. As women's flag football continues to experience rapid growth across the country, Daemen University's investment in the sport reflects its commitment to expanding opportunities for female student-athletes. I look forward to establishing fierce, local conference rivalries as the East Coast Conference continues to expand its flag football footprint," Fish said.
"I plan to hit the ground running with recruiting for the 2028 competitive season. With my extensive knowledge of the local WNY high school flag football programs and travel teams throughout the Northeast United States and Southern Ontario, there is no shortage of excellent talent to recruit from. We will offer these athletes a premier collegiate experience, including the opportunity to compete at the brand-new Royal Park turf facility. My goal is to identify student-athletes who excel both on the field and in the classroom while helping establish Daemen as a destination for women's flag football," Fish said.
Competition for Daemen women's flag football is slated to begin in the Spring of 2028.
