Report: Big 12 explores adding flag football as women's sport

Field Level Media|published: Tue 31st March, 11:52 2026

Aug 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Delaware Women’s flag football teams compete during halftime of a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Big 12 is considering becoming the first FBS conference to sponsor women's flag football, Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday.

Play could begin as soon as 2028 with a minimum of six schools participating, per the report.

The exploratory efforts are being led by Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Scott Draper, the conference's chief football and competition officer along with assistance from the NFL.

"We're trying to meet the moment," Draper told SBJ. "Our goal here is growth. Our goal is to advance Big 12 membership opportunities and growth for (the conference). We see this as an opportunity to do that."

Flag football is indeed having a "moment," with the sport approaching its debut in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

More than 65 NCAA schools sponsor women's flag football at the club or varsity level. It also is offered at the high school level in at least 39 states, per SBJ.

"We think this is a natural extension of what we're currently doing to grow in the Big 12, then the partnership with the NFL comes into play," Draper said. "It's well documented what they're doing around flag. ... It really helps with their help and focus on flag. With our focus on flag, we'll be able to really accelerate the growth of the sport not only at the collegiate level, but at the high school level."

The Big 12 is one of the Power 4 conferences and currently has 16 full-member schools: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah and West Virginia.

--Field Level Media

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