Fox Cities News

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (UW-Oshkosh) will add women’s flag football as its 21st varsity sport, with preparations underway for a possible inaugural season in spring 2026.

Chancellor Manohar Singh announced the decision at the university’s 2025 Fall convocation. “This is an exciting addition to Titan athletics and UW-Oshkosh overall,” Singh said. “By embracing women’s flag football, we are responding to current, prospective, local, national and global student-athletes’ interests, helping them join and celebrate a sport quickly becoming a fixture in collegiate and international competition. It is one of the fastest growing sports anywhere. Its launch at UWO expands student offerings and helps us continue to strengthen enrollment.”

Darryl Sims, assistant chancellor of athletics, highlighted UW-Oshkosh’s early involvement in this expanding sport. “Women’s flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and we are thrilled that UW-Oshkosh is at the forefront of this movement in Division III athletics,” Sims said. “The excitement surrounding this sport is undeniable and our student-athletes will now have the opportunity to compete in a program that has both incredible momentum and a bright future nationally.”

Flag football has been gaining traction among youth and high school athletes across the United States. Fifteen states have sanctioned girls’ flag football at the high school level while many others operate pilot programs or independent leagues. According to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), nearly 50,000 girls participated in high school flag football during the 2024-25 academic year.

At the collegiate level, as of spring 2025 there were 16 colleges or universities offering varsity women’s flag football teams nationwide; more than 20 additional schools intend to start programs by spring 2026. Within Wisconsin’s public university system, UW-Stout began competing in spring 2025; UW-Oshkosh will become the second such institution.

The NCAA has identified women’s flag football as part of its Emerging Sports for Women initiative—a step toward potential championship status by 2028. The sport is also set for inclusion on an international stage when it debuts as an Olympic event at the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028.

Planning for UW-Oshkosh’s new team will accelerate during fall 2025 with a national search for its first head coach. Recruitment efforts target Wisconsin and Midwest regions as well as high schools where girls’ flag football is established or emerging.

The Titans plan to host home games at both the Rec Plex Dome and J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on campus; spectators attending games inside the dome should bring their own seating.

Flag football teams typically field seven players per side with rosters averaging about 25 athletes. Games consist of four quarters lasting twelve minutes each on fields measuring eighty yards by forty yards. Teams advance using four downs per twenty-yard segment with no field goals or point-after kicks—touchdowns are followed by attempts worth one or two points depending on distance.

The anticipated NCAA schedule would run from early January through Memorial Day with up to twelve contests per season.