UT-Arlington has tapped a coach for its first season of women’s flag football.
“Bringing a wealth of experience and high-level success,” according to a release, Melinda Nguyen has been named the first-ever coach of the flag football program. UTA athletic director Jon Fagg announced the hiring on Monday.
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“We’re not tiptoeing into women’s flag football — we’re sprinting,” UTA president Jennifer Cowley said in the release. “Hiring our first coach starts a new era not just for UTA, but for Division I sports in Texas — and we intend to set the standard. Melinda is smart, competitive, and ready to build something special here.”
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Nguyen joins UTA after three seasons as the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan, where she went 49-17 (and 27-5 against Kansas Conference opponents). Her teams reached the NAIA Flag Football Finals in all three seasons.
In addition to her time at KWU, Nguyen has also been the offensive coordinator for the Philippines Women’s National Team and the assistant coach for the U.S. 15U Junior National Team that won a silver medal in the 2025 Junior International Cup.
“I’m extremely excited for this role,” Nguyen said. “This is an opportunity to make history in a sport that I’m very passionate about. UTA was the right fit for me because our visions aligned. Everything I had dreamed of as a child is now becoming reality and UTA was able to share that reality with me.”
Cowley officially announced the addition of women’s flag football as a varsity sport back in May. UTA is the first Division I university in Texas to add a women’s flag football program. Nguyen and the Mavericks will begin competition in Spring 2027.
UTA flag football will play its games at Maverick Stadium and recruiting efforts, the release says, are already underway for Nguyen’s initial roster.
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