Calumet College of St. Joseph adds Women's Flag Football in 2026

Whiting, IN – Calumet College of St. Joseph is thrilled to announce the addition of women's flag football, a new varsity program, that will begin during the 2026-27 school year.

Women's flag football, which is played in the spring, has been an emerging sport within the NAIA since it came to fruition in 2021. 23 different schools competed in the 2024-25 Women's Flag Football season and that number is expected to climb as the NAIA's National Administrative Council (NAC) Executive Committee recently approved women's flag football as an invitational sport for the 2025-26 season.

Along with the announcement of launching this varsity sport, CCSJ has also hired Sam Daniels to lead its newest Crimson Wave program. Daniels has been a part of the Crimson Wave since 2022 and is currently the defensive coordinator for the two-time reigning sprint football champions.

After the announcement, CCSJ became the first school in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference to adopt a women's flag football program.

"Adding flag football to our athletic program brings a whole new excitement to our CCSJ community," said Calumet College of St. Joseph Athletic Director David Lopez. "It is currently the fastest growing girls sport at the high school level, so for us to be able to add it to our athletic department is amazing. We will be able to offer these young ladies a new opportunity to continue playing their sport while earning a degree." 

The International Federation of American Football reports that flag football has many similarities to the contact game. Women's flag football will be 7v7, with the offense having four downs to reach a certain point on the field while the defense attempts to stop them. Reaching the endzone is six points awarded to the offense and they'll have the option to add one or two additional points on an extra point attempt.

A full breakdown of the rules and regulations can be found on naia.org, but for those interested athletes please contact CCSJ Women's Head Flag Football Coach Sam Daniels at sdaniels@ccsj.edu.