CONWAY, Ark. (February 5, 2025) – Hendrix College has announced the addition of women's flag football to its lineup of intercollegiate athletics programs beginning in 2025-26.
"The addition of women's flag football allows us to offer another life-changing athletic experience for young women," said Hendrix College President Dr. Karen Petersen. "As the parent of a college football player, I have seen firsthand the value of teamwork and leadership skills cultivated on the football field. I am excited for Hendrix College to be an early leader in advancing the sport of women's flag football."
Hendrix joins a growing list of colleges and universities in the United States to add women's flag football and will be the first in the state of Arkansas to offer it as a varsity sport.
"Our athletic department strives to provide a transformative experience for our student-athletes," said Hendrix College Director of Athletics Amy Weaver. "With the addition of women's flag football, we can continue to provide phenomenal opportunities for our young women to compete at the collegiate level, which aligns with our mission to promote greater accessibility and inclusivity in athletics. We are proud to be the first college or university in a state with such a rich football tradition to expand the reach of the sport and help build on the momentum of women's flag football."
The women's flag football program will compete at the club level in Spring 2026 before transitioning to varsity status in Spring 2027. Starting out as a club sport will serve as a developmental period for the program to allow student-athletes the opportunity to participate in organized competition before competing at the varsity level the following season.
Women's flag football is expected to be considered as an Emerging Sport for Women by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) in the coming year. Emerging Sports for Women are recognized by the NCAA but do not have sanctioned NCAA Championships.
Hendrix is believed to be the third NCAA Division III institution in the southeast and southwestern United States to announce the addition of the sport after Huntingdon College (Ala.) and Concordia University Texas did so earlier this year. Hendrix will exit the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) following the 2024-25 academic year and rejoin the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) in 2025-26, where Concordia currently serves as a full conference member.
"I am very excited about the prospects of women's flag football eventually becoming a conference-sponsored sport," said SCAC Commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "We've had a groundswell of interest since our Presidents Council met last spring and with Concordia and now Hendrix on board, I feel it is only a matter of time before others join in."
"The SCAC remains committed to providing equitable opportunities for all our students, and I can soon envision the day when we are handing a trophy to our first conference women's flag football team champion."
Currently, there are 24 institutions in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and 7 schools in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) that sponsor women's flag football. This year, the Atlantic East Conference became the first conference across all three divisions of the NCAA to sanction women's flag football.
