LATHAM, N.Y. - It’s the official inaugural season for Women’s Flag Football in the United East and the Conference is set to have five teams competing for the first ever title. The 2026 preseason poll can be found below:
| 1. |
Gallaudet University (4) |
| 2. |
Keystone College |
| 3. |
Cairn University (1) |
| 4. |
Penn State Harrisburg |
| 5. |
Cedar Crest College |
These five United East member institutions were instrumental in launching the sport during the spring 2025 semester as a club initiative and play a key role in setting the stage for its expansion. This past spring, the United East organized two playdays and a culminating end-of-season tournament that generated excitement across participating campuses.
Lancaster Bible College will also be a part of the upcoming schedule as the Chargers are playing at the club level with hopes of moving to varsity status in the near future.
The culminating Championship will take place on Saturday April 25 with the top four teams in the standings competing in a one day event hosted by the #1 seed.
Find the full women's flag football schedule here: WOMEN'S FLAG FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
This past NCAA Convention, women’s flag football earned Emerging Sport status. Once in the Emerging Sports for Women program, a sport must have a minimum of 40 schools sponsoring the sport at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participation requirements to be considered for NCAA championship status. Flag football's immediate addition to the program means schools sponsoring the sport in the 2026 spring season can count toward the 40-school threshold required to establish a National Collegiate Championship if they meet minimum requirements. More details about legislative next steps are available in this document. As of summer 2025, NCAA sports sponsorship data showed that at least 40 NCAA schools planned to sponsor flag football at the varsity level in the 2025-26 academic year. Additional tracking from sport leaders anticipates as many as 60 schools could participate in spring 2026. The NCAA expects sponsorship to continue to increase.
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The United East boasts 14 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Harrisburg, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.