Several college sports realignment news items were announced on Thursday, February 27, 2025, related to women’s flag football and field hockey. Two schools - one in Division 2 and one in Division 3 - will add a varsity women’s flag football team beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. 52 NCAA and NAIA schools are adding women’s flag football as a varsity sport for the 2026 spring season.

Post University (Waterbury, Connecticut) will add women’s flag football next academic year. Post did not announce a conference affiliation but will look to join one in time for the 2026 spring season. The Eagles are a primary member of the NCAA Division 2 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), which doesn’t sponsor the sport. Chestnut Hill College is the only other member of the CACC that is adding women’s flag football in 2025-26 and will compete in the NCAA Division 3 Atlantic East Conference.

The University of Redlands (Redlands, California) is also adding women’s flag football as a varsity sport in 2025-26. Redlands is a member of the NCAA Division 3 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), which doesn’t sponsor flag football. Fellow SCIAC member California Lutheran announced it will begin sponsoring women’s flag football starting with the 2026-27 academic year.

Five NCAA conferences have announced sponsorship of women’s flag football. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and Conference Carolinas have done so at the NCAA Division 2 level. The Atlantic East, Empire 8, and United East are three conferences that have or will sponsor the sport in 2025-26. The NAIA has two conferences that sponsor the sport: the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) and the Sun Conference.

Speaking of the KCAC, William Woods University (Fulton, Missouri) will compete as a member of the KCAC in women’s flag football for the 2024-25 academic year. The 2025 season is WWU’s inaugural flag football campaign. The Owls are a full member of the NAIA’s American Midwest Conference but are set to join the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) beginning with the 2025-26 academic year.

East Coast Conference to Sponsor Field Hockey

The NCAA Division 2 East Coast Conference announced it will begin sponsoring women’s field hockey in the 2026-27 academic year. The first season will be comprised of six teams: Dominican University (Orangeburg, New York), D'Youville University (Buffalo, New York), Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, New York), Molloy University (Rockville Centre, New York), Roberts Wesleyan (Rochester, New York), St. Thomas Aquinas (Sparkill, New York).

D'Youville, Roberts Wesleyan, and Dominican will compete as independent teams for the 2025-26 academic year before moving to the ECC in 2026-27. Mercy, Molloy, and St. Thomas Aquinas will compete in the Northeast-10 Conference in 2025-26 before joining the ECC for the 2026-27 season.