{"id":17332,"date":"2025-07-17T21:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T21:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/17332\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T21:33:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T21:33:12","slug":"womens-flag-football-continues-surge-with-3-new-arizona-college-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/17332\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s flag football continues surge with 3 new Arizona college teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A receiver on the Thomas University (GA) flag football team tries to evade two Kansas Wesleyan defenders at the NAIA Women\u2019s Flag Football Championship in Riverside, Missouri on May 6, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Hicks)<\/p>\n

PHOENIX \u2013 Catarina Maccagnano is working toward an Olympic-sized goal, not through her original love of softball, but via flag football. <\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, (I) fell in love with it,\u201d Maccagnano said of the sport that will make its Olympic debut in a five-on-five format at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. \u201cJust the feeling on the football field was a different feeling than the softball field could bring me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt new and it felt like, \u2018OK, I can start new here,\u2019 and play myself, play how I want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maccagnano, a sophomore at Glendale\u2019s Arizona Christian University who was raised in Chandler, experienced great success in the first season that girls flag football was a varsity sport in the Arizona Interscholastic Association. In 2023, with Maccagnano at quarterback, Hamilton High School made the 6A semifinals.<\/p>\n

In order to keep that Olympic flame alive, she wanted to pursue flag football in college but, at the time, that meant going out of state. Maccagnano made the journey to Lake Wales, Florida, and competed for NAIA Warner University.<\/p>\n

But before she played a game as a freshman in the spring of 2025, Arizona Christian University announced in October it had added flag football as a varsity sport. A little over a month later \u2013 Dec. 2 to be exact \u2013 Michael Maccagnano, Catarina\u2019s father, became the program\u2019s first head coach. <\/p>\n

The opportunity to return to the Valley and play local came knocking and Catarina answered by committing to ACU on June 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of my intention is bringing the talent back to the West Coast because I know so many girls who traveled to Kansas, traveled to Florida and New Jersey and they just feel like they need to be home,\u201d Catarina said. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Catarina Maccagnano, Warner University freshman flag football player, prepares to pass at the NAIA Women\u2019s Flag Football Championship in Riverside, Missouri on May 6, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Hicks)<\/p>\n

Surprise\u2019s Ottawa University Arizona and Benedictine University Mesa, also NAIA members, soon followed suit by adding women\u2019s flag football in January and April, respectively. <\/p>\n

The trio of Arizona-based schools made waves not just locally for high school hopefuls but also paved the way for the NAIA\u2019s third flag football conference. They join California\u2019s La Sierra University, Hope International University and Simpson University in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, with Simpson as an associate conference member.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to do nothing but obviously continue to grow and see more schools buy in and jump in,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n

As of April, the NCAA said there were more than 65 schools interested in adding the sport at the club or varsity level. If the management council continues to see interest grow at its current rate, the NCAA could conceivably host its first flag football championship in spring of 2028, said Stephanie Kwok, NFL\u2019s Head of Flag Football.<\/p>\n

\u201c(That) would put us right before the (2028 Summer Olympics), so that\u2019d be a pretty big year for flag,\u201d Kwok said. \u201cNothing official yet, but if it were to happen at that pace, that would be the fastest sport to become an NCAA championship sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Female athletes haven\u2019t had to wait long to reach flag football\u2019s national stage, as the NAIA began hosting championships in spring of 2021. But from six states (Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska) and 16 schools represented in 2021 to 10 states (California, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee joined) and 23 schools in 2025, more and more are unlocking the opportunity to play.<\/p>\n

Steve Wilson, NAIA director of athletics communications, said 35 schools will participate in the 2026 season. NAIA women\u2019s flag football will move from an \u201cemerging sport\u201d classification to \u201cinvitational,\u201d a transformative upgrade that was announced July 9. Once the sport meets the 40-school threshold, it will earn full championship status.<\/p>\n

On the Arizona high school scene, the AIA approved the sport for varsity competition in the fall of 2023, tightening the increasingly crowded flag football timeline. <\/p>\n

Fifty-four high schools adopted flag football in its first year, enough for 5A and 6A play. Following a sophomore season of 101 schools vying for 4A, 5A and 6A championships, year three will feature four conferences and 135 participating schools, said Tyler Cerimeli, AIA director of athletics and officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single school that we talk to says when they hold tryouts, they just get so many girls out ready to participate,\u201d Cerimeli said. \u201cSome are multisport athletes. \u2026 But we\u2019re seeing a lot of first-time athletes. \u2026 They\u2019re coming out specifically because of the excitement of flag football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kwok never had the chance to play flag football in an organized way \u2013 she enjoyed her fair share of courtyard football in middle school \u2013 but has watched her athletic dreams come alive since filling the NFL\u2019s self-created position in May 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were in El Paso and heard about a girl who tried out for four different high school teams and didn\u2019t make any of them,\u201d Kwok said. \u201cAnd flag football was that last opportunity she had to have that high school experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Kaila Yniguez had extensive athletic experience as a longtime softball player, she gravitated toward flag football when it was first offered her senior year at California\u2019s Bellflower High School. She went from not being interested when her mother mentioned it as a possibility to earning a college scholarship at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas.<\/p>\n

\u201cDang, I really enjoy playing this sport knowing I had dropped the sport (softball) I\u2019ve been playing since I was 3,\u201d Yniguez said. <\/p>\n

Southwestern won a game in the NAIA national championship last season but success wasn\u2019t enough to keep Yniguez more than 1,400 miles from home. Yniguez told her So Cal Reign club coaches about her intention to transfer and they messaged ACU\u2019s Michael Maccagnano. Once Yniguez learned what the school was about and that she could study sports psychology, she announced her commitment May 8. <\/p>\n

Not only do West Coast athletes want to develop their skills near their roots, coaches of these new programs want to keep them local.<\/p>\n

Brian Winstead, who in April was named the women\u2019s flag football coach at Benedictine University Mesa, spent the past three years at the helm of Gilbert High School\u2019s girls flag football team and has more than 15 years of experience with the game of football. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons I love being here at Ben U is because I do think Arizona\u2019s a hotbed for girls flag and I\u2019m excited to try to keep these girls from going out of state,\u201d Winstead said. \u201cWe can win with a lot of talent we have right here in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winstead also emphasized he is preaching \u201cdebt free\u201d play for in-state prospects.<\/p>\n

One of Winstead\u2019s former Gilbert players, Jalyssa Guerrero, will continue to develop and refine her game under his watchful eye in Mesa. Flag football is not a singular passion in her family, as three of Guerrero\u2019s younger sisters also play the sport.<\/p>\n

Even with the built-in camaraderie, Guerrero said it took a powder puff football game at Gilbert to ignite the possibility of taking flag to the next level. She was originally set on only playing soccer in college.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Gilbert High School senior Jalyssa Guerrero receives a handoff from sophomore Lilah Barton during a girls flag football game against Casteel in Queen Creek on September 17, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Brian Winstead)<\/p>\n

Because NAIA flag competes in spring, Guerrero will be able to maintain her multisport athlete lifestyle in the fall as a midfielder for the Redhawks women\u2019s soccer team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think soccer helped me gain a lot of my movement for football, like my speed, my footwork, my burst,\u201d Guerrero said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m (a) running back and I get the ball, I\u2019m jogging and then I sprint, so I think soccer helped me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guerrero\u2019s incoming teammate, Emily Williams, has been around football her whole life as her father, Alphonso, played professionally for the NFL, USFL and CFL. To her disbelief, she made a boys flag football team in middle school at Summit Academy Junior High in Chandler. <\/p>\n

At Chandler High School, however, Williams could not play the sport until her senior year in 2023. She tried her hand at basketball and tennis, with the latter her main sport her junior year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really a roller coaster because I didn\u2019t expect to go back to the flag world,\u201d said Williams, who played alongside Yniguez at Southwestern College during her freshman season.<\/p>\n

Williams said her participation in the Arizona Cardinals\u2019 NFL Flag College Showcase in March 2024 was critical in making her current collegiate track a possibility. <\/p>\n

Guerrero\u2019s father, JD, a Gilbert High flag football assistant coach, was at the showcase, and Williams said his local roots helped make it easier to keep pursuing flag football.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust knowing that Coach G was on the staff \u2026 and just being able to see how much he\u2019s a part of the community, not even just in Arizona but also in California,\u201d Williams said. \u201cIt\u2019s so beneficial, especially when you know somebody is a part of the community, you know where their heart is, you know where their heart is set and you know how they are going to be as a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marino Lee, Ottawa University Arizona flag football coach, echoed Winstead in that securing Arizona talent and keeping them home is of utmost importance in his early and future recruiting efforts. A Saguaro High School and Arizona Christian alumnus, Lee said he first applied for the ACU head coach opening before pivoting to the opportunity in Surprise. <\/p>\n

Michael Maccagnano, who has been transitioning into the ACU coaching position, coached boys football in just about every conceivable assistant position for eight years and was an AIA football referee for about seven years before Catarina \u201ceasily persuaded\u201d him to coach at Hamilton. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a blessing to coach girls. I\u2019ll say this, I\u2019ll never go back to coaching boys again. Coaching girls is fun,\u201d said Maccagnano, who led Hamilton to the 6A girls flag football state title in 2024.<\/p>\n

Despite his lighthearted sentiment, girls and boys from around the world can all play for a spot in the NFL Flag Championships at Canton, Ohio. After roughly 200 teams and 2,000 athletes participated in its breakout year of 2024, Kwok said she estimates 50% growth in 2025 with about 300 teams and 3,000 participants. <\/p>\n

Eight youth teams from Arizona qualified March 1 via the Arizona Cardinals NFL Flag Regional Tournament. They included the boys 8U Tucson Turf, boys 10U All Out, boys 12U GYFL Elite, boys 14U GYFL Elite, girls 10U AZP Queen Cobras, girls 12U Girls Conquer, girls 14U Girls Heat Wav and girls high school Girls Heat Wav.<\/p>\n

As the sport is played in more than 100 countries, Kwok said this year\u2019s international bracket games will be broadcast on ESPN channels and include \u201cexpanded programming\u201d as well. The international reach is resonating at the Arizona collegiate startups, as ACU\u2019s Maccagnano said he has had interest from a few female athletes in Panama and New Zealand, while Benedictine Mesa\u2019s Winstead said Germany and Switzerland will be represented on his squad as well as the soccer team.<\/p>\n

The event, slated to run Thursday to Sunday, will also offer a college fair and showcase on its first day. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven with so many top players, there\u2019s still pretty low awareness among girls and among their families that there is an opportunity to play in college,\u201d Kwok said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I travel around and hear about new high school programs, we hear all of these stories about girls getting recruited in their first season to go play in college. And so, hopefully we\u2019ll have some college recruit stories coming out of the flag championships as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

A girl on the Arizona Cardinals high school flag football team puts her hand up for a pass at the NFL Flag Championships at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio on July 19, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the NFL)<\/p>\n

Besides the major difference in high school and international gameplay \u2013 seven-on-seven compared to five-on-five \u2013 rule standardization was a major step in streamlining the sport.<\/p>\n

Flag football has had biannual mens and womens world championships since 2002 under the International Federation of American Football, but June marked the first time the game\u2019s rules have been standardized at the high school level. The National Federation of State High School Associations published the first flag football rules book June 16.<\/p>\n

In addition to Cerimeli\u2019s role with AIA, he is also the chair of the 11-member NFHS Flag Football Rules Committee. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe took all of those rule books and brought it together,\u201d Cerimeli said of pulling from youth, college intramural, international, NFL Flag and individual state rule books. \u201c(We said), \u2018OK, what\u2019s the best for high school athletes to make this the legitimate sport that it is?\u2019 And we\u2019re really happy with the result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consistent rules, positive momentum in the NCAA, NAIA and on the state level, along with inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, has set up flag football for unprecedented growth. Yet the sport still has the ability to develop its talent at an even younger level.<\/p>\n

Winstead said the Gilbert Youth Football League has doubled its girls participation over the past year and added that within the next five years people will be talking about girls flag on a club level like they do with basketball. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to have girls that are not new to the sport,\u201d Winstead said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be doing it for three or four years when they hit high school. That amount of talent is going to be incredible to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the present generation, the Olympics may be three years away but they aren\u2019t seen as unattainable.<\/p>\n

For Catarina Maccagnano, who could represent the U.S. or Italy as a dual citizen, she answered for the majority when asked if she wants to be an Olympian.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, definitely,\u201d Maccagnano said. <\/p>\n

Follow Cronkite News: Phoenix Sports on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n