At a Friday morning press conference, Binghamton University announced the addition of a women’s flag football team to its varsity roster, with its first season of intercollegiate competition set to kick off in the 2028 spring season. The new team marks the Bearcats’ first addition to their intercollegiate programs since the addition of men’s and women’s lacrosse teams in 2001 that accompanied the jump to the NCAA’s Division I level.

Binghamton University Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall, Jr. opened the ceremony with an official announcement of Binghamton’s new women’s varsity flag football team.

“This is a great day to be a Bearcat,” Marshall said. “When you look at the continuous outlook of intercollegiate athletics and how it continues to evolve, and sometimes not in a good way, we have been monitoring it very closely here at Binghamton University. And with that in mind, a collective decision has been made to add our 22nd [varsity] sport, which will be women’s flag football.”

Marshall discussed the University’s greater strategic vision, pointing to its upcoming AI research center, aligning current research and technology goals with a desire to “be on the cutting edge of collegiate athletics.”

Speaking about the program’s planned timeline, Marshall announced that Binghamton’s Athletics Department recently began its search for a head coach, which is expected to last into the summer. Recruiting student athletes is expected to follow immediately after selecting a coach. Practice and informal competitions may begin as early as spring 2027.

Marshall then thanked Binghamton Senior Deputy of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer Dennis Kalina and Deputy Director of Athletics Leigh Ann Savidge-Morris for their roles in planning and budgeting the new team.

Next, Marshall introduced Binghamton University President Anne D’Alleva, who kicked off her speech by thanking Marshall alongside all of the University’s Division of Athletics staff for their role in kick-starting the new sport.

D’Alleva argued that what makes the University “one of the nation’s top public universities” and a “top 10 public Ivy” is its continued commitment to innovation and being “one step ahead.”

“We do that in research and scholarship, and we innovate with students first, giving our students a pathway to success,” D’Alleva said. “And women’s flag football is that same kind of innovation, that revolutionary next step in intercollegiate athletics.”

D’Alleva shared statistics on the growth of girls’ flag football across the country. She cited the National Federation of State High School Associations, which found that girls’ flag football participation in American high schools grew by 60 percent in the 2024-2025 season, with nearly 70,000 participants.

To close, D’Alleva highlighted the role played by the University’s student athletes within the broader campus community. She announced that until the first flag football game in the spring of 2028, the University will “work on building up this sport, building the infrastructure that we need and making sure that we are excelling across all sports here at Binghamton.”

In a press event following the conclusion of the events’ formal announcement portion, Marshall mentioned a potential partnership with the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, which will kick off its inaugural women’s collegiate flag football season on Feb. 27, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The league was launched in partnership with the New York Jets and already features commitments from Bearcat opponents Fairleigh Dickinson University, Long Island University, Mercyhurst University, Sacred Heart University and Saint Joseph’s University.

“It’s in the beginning stages,” Marshall said. “We would hope, it’s not a partnership yet. In our perfect world, we would like to partner with the ECAC, because they’re starting with the flag football league. So as we continue this process, we’ll continue to try to engage them and work towards a mutual agreement.”

Marshall added that the decision is not connected to the anonymous eight-figure donation given last August, which financed the equivalent of 40 new full athletic scholarships. He clarified that scholarships will be available for the program.

Women’s collegiate flag football is a seven-on-seven game played on an 80-by-40-foot field. Players wear belts with a pop-up flag on either hip and a down ends when a ball carrier’s flag is removed or points are scored. Teams can score by possessing the ball in the end zone for a touchdown worth six points and can add another point by converting from the five-yard line or two points by converting from the 10-yard line.

Binghamton’s women’s flag football team will initially compete under the NCAA’s Emerging Sport for Women Program. Flag football was officially added to the program following a vote among representatives from each of the NCAA’s three divisions at the 2026 NCAA Convention in January.

Beginning in 1994, the program established a pathway for participating sports across all three divisions to be considered for NCAA championship status upon meeting a 40-school sponsorship and contest and participation requirements. Eight NCAA Division I schools have already launched varsity flag football programs, with eight more announcing future launches in 2027 and 2028.

The Bearcats will compete at the Bearcats Sports Complex, and the East Field at the complex will be lined for flag football. Binghamton’s planned inaugural season in the spring of 2028 will consist of a minimum of 12 games from January through May.