GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA — A new generation of Griffins will soon take the field as Gwynedd Mercy University prepares to launch women’s flag football, giving student-athletes another opportunity to compete in one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports.
The team will begin competition in spring 2027 as GMercyU’s 19th varsity sport. The university has launched a nationwide search for the program’s inaugural head coach.
“Women’s flag football is exploding,” Athletic Director Keith Mondillo stated. “We look forward to kicking off Griffin flag football this spring.”
Girls’ high school flag football participation grew 60% last year to nearly 69,000 athletes nationwide. About 500,000 girls ages 6 to 17 played the sport in 2023.
The sport’s expanding reach now stretches from youth leagues to the international stage. The NCAA added women’s flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program in January, while the sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Created in 1994 to help reduce the participation gap between men’s and women’s athletics, the NCAA program supports sports working toward championship status. Previous participants that became NCAA championship sports include rowing, ice hockey, water polo, bowling, beach volleyball and women’s wrestling.
GMercyU will compete in the Atlantic East Conference alongside Centenary University, Eastern University, Immaculata University, Marymount University, Marywood University, Neumann University, Penn State Schuylkill, Chestnut Hill College and Holy Family University.
The Griffins’ inaugural season will coincide with the launch of GMercyU’s men’s volleyball program.
“We are eager to welcome the young women who will make history as members of our inaugural flag football team,” university President Deanne H. D’Emilio stated.
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