Atlantic East Conference launches women’s flag football as varsity sport

Lincoln Financial Field has been home to a fair share of historical moments, but on Monday, it became the setting for a historic moment in women’s flag football.

The Atlantic East Conference hosted a media day for the inaugural season of women’s flag football, becoming the first conference among all college divisions to recognize women’s flag football as an NCAA sport.

Julie Hirshey, the vice president of community relations for the Eagles, called the players and coaches “trailblazers” for being part of what she described as “a historic moment here in Philadelphia.”

“You are setting a foundation for women and what women’s collegiate flag football will become in the future,” Hirshey said. “That’s starting with you guys here today, you’re proving that football is for everyone.”

» READ MORE: How girls’ flag football became a sanctioned sport in the state and what it means

In its inaugural season, the Atlantic East Conference will have teams from Centenary, Eastern, Holy Family, Immaculata, Marymount, Neumann, and Penn State Schuylkill. In 2026, Chestnut Hill College and Marywood will join the conference.

Last season, there was a one day tournament with a semifinal and championship game. Marymount came out on top, with Immaculata hosting and Neumann and Centenary participating as well. This year will be the first full season for the sport.

“We came up with a win last year, and that was sort of something that we prepped for a couple weeks, and then we came and we didn’t really know what to expect,” said Mia Clevano, a sophomore at Marymount. “This year, we’re trying to be more intentional. Everything we do at practice, we’re intentionally training this certain way. We’re intentionally trying to portray ourselves in this way, and I think that all goes down to what we’re trying to do, as Marymount and also as a flag football team.”

Natalie Dodd, a sophomore at Immaculata, who lost to Marymount in the championship game last year, said last year’s one day tournament was a great experience, but there’s a lot of excitement in the growth of the conference and the sport.

“Now that it’s up and running, and there’s so many more teams and [we’re] really excited [that there’s] a lot more competition,” Dodd said. “You get to meet a lot more people and learn a lot more.”

But it’s not just the growth of the conference that has Dodd and other players excited. It’s also the possibility of growth for the sport in the future.

“Flag football is the future,” said Haley Price, a junior from Neumann. “You can look at the NFL trying so hard to put it out, and we’re starting this as girls and coming forward as a women-led sport, and I think that’s just super important. Try hard, and then you can inspire the next generation to take it up after us.”

» READ MORE: Neumann University showcases its growth in women’s flag football with homecoming game

For Price, this next generation includes her six year old niece who said she wanted to play flag football after learning her aunt would be joining the Knights’ team.

“Being able to be there and have her be able to watch this as a sport grow is just insane,” Price said. “It’s just going to continue to inspire people and inspire women to try everything.”

Her coach, Nellie Mixon, a 2006 Neumann graduate, says actions like this begin to change the conversations surrounding women’s sports.

“I feel like it’s a long time coming. Women should have been able to play flag football a long time ago,” Mixon said. “The rhetoric of men just believing that it’s a man’s sport kind of pushed everybody to like, ‘Nah. Women could do just as much as y’all can do,’ and in some ways, we could do it better.”

While the introduction of varsity flag football is expected to expedite the growth of the sport, it’s also bringing a number of interest to the colleges as well.

During a coaches and administrators panel, recruitment has been what Holy Family head coach Charles Hopkins called “surprisingly overwhelming.”

“I’ve been getting waves of emails from all over the country. And I’m like, ‘How do you even know who I am? How do you even know who we are? We just got started,’” Hopkins said. “I’ve talked to parents and athletes in Alabama, in Tennessee and Colorado, in Arizona. This is really, really, huge.”

» READ MORE: Girls’ flag football is on the rise in Pennsylvania — with some help from the Eagles

There’s still work to be done as the inaugural season kicks off this on Friday. But Hopkins took a minute to remind the athletes of all they’ve accomplished so far.

“Don’t measure what you accomplish in the numbers. You’re here, you’ve already won,” Hopkins said. “This is greatness. We cannot be great without the greatness of others. You are all great. Therefore you will achieve greatness, and your greatness will waterfall down to the next set of ladies who are coming to sit in these seats, coming to wear your jersey numbers, coming to your schools.”