Binghamton University Adds Women's Flag Football — First New Varsity Sport in 25 Years
The Bearcats will launch their 22nd varsity sport with an inaugural season in spring 2028 — the program's first addition since lacrosse joined the roster during the university's 2001 move to NCAA Division I.
At a Glance
- Binghamton University announced women's flag football as its 22nd varsity sport — the first new addition in 25 years — with the inaugural season set for spring 2028
- The NCAA designated women's flag football as an Emerging Sport for Women in January 2026, with 60+ varsity programs already active and 50+ more schools planning to launch
- High school girls' flag football surged 60% in 2024-25 to nearly 70,000 players, and the sport debuts at the 2028 LA Olympics — backed by all 32 NFL teams
Binghamton University made a historic announcement on February 20, 2026, revealing that it will add women's flag football as its 22nd varsity sport, with the inaugural season set for spring 2028. The addition marks the first new sport the Bearcats have introduced in 25 years, since men's and women's lacrosse were added alongside the university's 2001 move to NCAA Division I and America East membership.
The program will bring Binghamton's intercollegiate offerings to a perfectly balanced 11 men's and 11 women's sports. The new team will practice and compete at the Bearcats Sports Complex East Field, the same facility used by the soccer and lacrosse programs, and the season will run from January to May with a total of 12 games.
A Great Day to Be a Bearcat
Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall, Jr. opened the announcement ceremony with enthusiasm, saying, "This is a great day to be a Bearcat." He noted that the athletics department has been monitoring the evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics and made a collective decision to add women's flag football as the program's 22nd varsity sport.
University President Anne D'Alleva emphasized the program's forward-looking vision, noting that the athletics department will spend the next two years building infrastructure, hiring a head coach, and recruiting student-athletes before the first official game in 2028. The move was also praised by regional NFL partners, with the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and New York Giants all voicing support for the expansion of women's flag football in the state.
NCAA Momentum Is Accelerating
The NCAA officially added flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program in January 2026, and the momentum since has been striking. At the collegiate level, more than 60 varsity programs and 100 club teams were already offered by NCAA schools in the 2025-26 academic year, and more than 50 additional NCAA schools across all three divisions are expected to launch varsity programs in the coming years.
The NCAA will sponsor its inaugural flag football championship, the Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic, in April 2026 at Arizona State, and Binghamton will be eligible for postseason consideration immediately upon beginning competition in 2028. In the Northeast, several familiar Bearcat opponents — including LIU, FDU, Mercyhurst, Sacred Heart, and Saint Joseph's — have already added programs, and Binghamton is exploring an affiliation with the ECAC, which is rapidly becoming a hub for collegiate flag football competition.
Explosive Growth Beyond Campus
The explosive growth of flag football extends well beyond college campuses. The National Federation of State High School Associations found that girls' flag football participation grew by 60 percent in the 2024-2025 season, with nearly 70,000 participants. More than 40 states now sponsor high school girls' varsity flag football, and in the Binghamton area alone, 17 Section IV high schools compete, while Central New York fielded 12 Section III teams in 2025.
Globally, the sport counts an estimated 20 million players, and all 32 NFL teams actively support youth flag football programming in their regional markets — creating a robust pipeline from youth leagues to high school to college competition. The sport's inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics is expected to accelerate participation even further, lending international legitimacy to a sport that has long thrived at the grassroots level.