UW Oshkosh Chancellor Manohar Singh announced Aug. 27 that the university will be adding women’s flag football as its 21st varsity sport, with a goal to fulfill the roster and coaching staff by next spring.
UWO Chancellor Manohar Singh said the new program reflects UW-Oshkosh’s commitment to expanding athletic opportunities for women and being part of the national growth of the sport.
“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 UW Oshkosh expands student offerings and helps us continue to strengthen enrollment.”
As flag football continues to be one of the fastest growing sports in the country, UWO becomes the fifth four-year Wisconsin college or university to offer the sport on a varsity level, joining UW-Stout as representatives from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
UWO Assistant Chancellor of Athletics Darryl Sims said that women’s flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.
“The excitement surrounding this sport is undeniable and UW Oshkosh students will now have the opportunity to compete in a program that has both incredible momentum and a bright future nationally,” Sims said.
Earlier this year, the NCAA recommended a motion to recognize women’s flag football as part of its Emerging Sports for Women program, putting the sport on a trajectory to reach championship status by 2028.
The recommendation came on the heels of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Committee announcing flag football as part of the competition. Right now, over 65 NCAA universities across the country sponsor the sport at either the club or varsity levels.
If the recommendation is officially approved by the NCAA, flag football will join acrobatics and tumbling, equestrian (Division I and Division II only), rugby, stunt and triathlon as the only sports in the Emerging Sports for Women program per NCAA.com.
More colleges are hopping on the trend as there’s currently 20 others who’ve announced plans to integrate the sport by spring 2026.
Flag football teams compete 7-on-7, with average rosters of about 25 players. Games are played in four 12-minute quarters on a field 80 yards long by 40 yards wide. The offense has four downs to cross each 20-yard line for a first down, with an option to punt on third down. Failure to advance results in a change of possession. Teams score six points for a touchdown and may attempt an additional one- or two-point play from five or 10 yards out. Unlike tackle football, there are no field goals or point-after kicks. Instead of tackling, competitors wear flag belts with two pop-flags fixed at their hips; play ends when a flag is pulled.
The soon-to-be Titans will play their home games at both the UW Oshkosh Rec Plex Dome and J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
