Sacramento State to add women’s flag football as official sport. ‘It means so much’

Women’s flag football’s rapid rise reached another milestone Monday as Sacramento State announced it will add the sport, with plans to compete in the NCAA’s expected inaugural Division I season in 2027-28.

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The team will begin as a club program this fall during the 2026-27 academic year before transitioning to varsity status, according to the university.

For freshman Raia Brown, the announcement capped a year spent training, working out and petitioning the university to add the sport she starred in at St. Mary’s High School.

“I’ve been just waiting for this moment,” Brown, a former St. Mary’s High School star, said in an interview hours after the announcement. “It’s unbelievable, and I’m just ready to do it. I’m just ready to play.”

‘This is what girls really wanted’

Flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, both at the high school and collegiate levels, with an Olympic debut for men and women scheduled for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Girls flag football has been a California Interscholastic Federation sport for three full years, with participation growing across the Sacramento region each season. The sport also received a formal recommendation to become an NCAA championship sport in May. Sac State became the eighth four-year school in California to announce plans for a flag football program, joining schools such as Cal Poly, Saint Mary’s and Cal Baptist.

“We are ecstatic to announce the addition of a women’s flag football team,” Sac State Athletic Director Mark Orr said in the release. “The addition of a women’s flag football team is in direct response to demonstrated interest from young women on campus who want to compete on the field as the sport grows in popularity across the state and across the country.”

Brown, who launched a Change.org petition last month advocating for adding flag football at Sac State, was a key part of that effort. Since May 11, more than 325 people have signed the petition.

“I had posted the petition, and the next day I went to school and there were people in my class that were like, ‘Oh my gosh, when are you guys starting this? I want to play, like I really want to play,’” Brown said. “I was just seeing this is what girls really wanted, and it’s like being able to be the person to start that change is just so huge for me.”

According to the school, the search for a head coach has begun, and the club team is expected to have at least 15 players next season. The team will be able to use multiple existing Sac State facilities, the release said.

Funding for the 2026-27 club season will come from club resources before transitioning to the Athletics Department when flag football becomes an NCAA sport. At that point, scholarships will be available, and conferences will likely be created, Sac State said.

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Is flag football an NCAA-sponsored sport?

While flag football received a formal recommendation from the NCAA Committee on Access, the NCAA’s three divisions still must vote to approve the addition, which is expected in January 2027, according to the NCAA.

If adopted in January, an NCAA Flag Football Committee would be established, and the NCAA expects the first season to begin in spring 2028.

The sport must have 40 sponsoring schools to become an NCAA championship sport, though the organization said it expects more than 100 schools to participate by 2028. Funding also must be approved by oversight committees, according to the NCAA.

‘It’s really just starting from the bottom’

As a junior at St. Mary’s, Brown was part of the first CIF-sponsored high school season in 2023-24.

In two seasons, she caught 251 passes for 3,818 yards, rushed for 1,400 yards and completed 20 of 25 passes at quarterback, according to MaxPreps. She accounted for 33 touchdowns.

Now, with three more years at Sac State, Brown is expected to have the opportunity to compete in the first NCAA-sponsored college flag football season if the current timeline holds. She said the milestone reflects the rapid growth of the sport.

“This sport has grown so fast in such a short amount of time,” Brown said. “It’s really huge for Sac State, and it means so much to all these girls around here, and it’s just a really big deal.”

One challenge facing players like Brown, though, is that they were largely unable to compete in official flag football competitions during their time at college.

To help potential players prepare, Brown said she plans to hold training sessions and conditioning workouts before the club team’s official tryouts begin.

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“It’s really just starting from the bottom and building up,” Brown said.