October 8, 2025

SCAC Adds Women's Flag Football; Millsaps College Set to Join as Affiliate

In an announcement made today, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will add women’s flag football to its sport offerings effective the 2026-27 playing season, becoming the 19th varsity sport sponsored by the conference. The league’s first women’s flag football championship will be contested in the spring of 2027.

SUWANEE, Ga. – In an announcement made today, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will add women's flag football to its sport offerings effective the 2026-27 playing season, becoming the 19th varsity sport sponsored by the conference. The league's first women's flag football championship will be contested in the spring of 2027. Complete Release

In conjunction with that announcement, the SCAC has offered women's flag football affiliate membership to Millsaps (Miss.) College, with that partnership also beginning in the spring of 2027. Millsaps announced the addition of the sport last month.

It is expected that Centenary College, Concordia University (Texas), Hendrix College and Millsaps College will each participate as women's flag football-playing members in the spring of 2027. The league plans to play a double round robin regular season schedule over three pod-hosted weekends (providing each school six conference games) with a season-ending conference championship weekend in the initial season of the sport.

"We are thrilled to officially add women's flag football as a conference-sponsored sport," said SCAC commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "This is an exciting step forward that provides more opportunities for female student-athletes to compete, grow, and showcase their skills on a championship stage. The energy and enthusiasm surrounding flag football are undeniable, and we're proud to be part of its rapid growth."

Flag football has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. Nationally, more than 200 collegiate varsity and club teams are expected to compete in 2026, with nearly 40 more launching programs in 2027. Flag football also has been added as a sport for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics made a recommendation to all three NCAA divisions earlier this year to sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. The vote to add flag football to the program will take place at the NCAA Convention in January 2026. Once in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, flag football must have a minimum of 40 total schools across all divisions sponsoring the sport at the varsity level and meet the minimum contest and participation requirements to be considered for NCAA championship status.

The SCAC sponsored a women's flag football showcase event last spring which was hosted by Concordia University (Texas) and attracted teams from Centenary, Concordia, Hendrix and Schreiner. The success of that event, along with the growing interest in the sport, solidified the league's decision to move forward with women's flag as its next championship sport.

Millsaps, which was a core member of the SCAC from 1989 to 2012, is the first school in the state of Mississippi to add varsity women's flag football. The team will begin as a club sport this spring and officially become the institution's 19th varsity-sponsored sport by the spring of 2027.

"Millsaps College is proud to join the SCAC as an affiliate member for women's flag football" said Millsaps College Director of Athletics Justin LeBlanc. "Flag football is opening doors for female student-athletes to continue with higher level competition, and Millsaps is proud to be part of this momentum that will help shape the future of the sport in our region."

"We are excited to welcome Millsaps as we prepare to kick off our inaugural varsity season of women's flag football in the spring of 2027," said Commissioner Hanberry. "As a former core member of our conference, Millsaps brings deep institutional knowledge and has earned long-standing respect. I'm confident they will be a strong addition as we work to grow women's flag football across our footprint."