Alabama State made history on Tuesday with the announcement that a women’s flag football program will be joining the university’s list of athletic offerings.
Citing a growing interest in and development of the sport, ASU president Quinton Ross Jr. said in a statement that adding this program to our institution allows Alabama State University to align its sports offerings to the global standard and to the future of an emerging sport.
The addition of women’s flag football will provide both current and incoming students a valuable opportunity to further their education while participating on the gridiron.”
The @BamaStateSports Family is growing with the addition of Women’s Flag Football!
📰 https://t.co/24kvrbH3ah#SWARMAS1 pic.twitter.com/XWa3qulhER
— Bama State Athletics (@BamaStateSports) April 2, 2024
“Flag football is a fantastic way for young women to develop their social skills, as well as their athletic abilities, while also encouraging exercise and physical fitness,” adds Hornets athletic director Jason Cable. “The University is proud to be the first Division I Historically Black College and Universities school to offer a women’s flag football program.”
Alabama State becomes the second HBCU overall to offer women’s flag football as a varsity sport. Florida Memorial University has played women’s flag football since 2021.
Flag football has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years as participation by girls ages 6 to 12 years old has increased 38 percent since 2015, with 474,000 young women playing the sport in 2023, more than 60 percent more than in 2019. Alabama held its first girls’ flag football championship this past fall, and 85 high schools in the state offer the sport.
“Flag football is a fantastic way for young women to develop their social skills, as well as their athletic abilities, while also encouraging exercise and physical fitness,” Cable said.