Colorado joins flag football’s rise, but varsity future a long shot
- Mattie Nunez
- 22 hours ago
- 4 min read
This spring, Coach Prime’s football team won’t be the only cleats to hit the University of Colorado campus.
In early January, the NCAA sanctioned flag football as a part of its Emerging Sports for Women program, establishing itself as a DI, II and III collegiate sport.
Margad Munkhsaikhan, a freshman and engineering student at CU, is looking ahead to the future of women’s flag football. Munkhsaikhan had only played flag football for a year after Colorado sanctioned the sport in the ‘24 -’25 school year. After seeing the newly established club flag football team, she knew she had to join.
“[Flag football] means everything to me, the people there, the coach there, I loved it there. So being able to bring it to CU has been huge to me,” she said of her flag football journey. “I was pretty bummed out that I could only play for a year. So now that I’m in college, it’s a whole new thing for me, and I want to make the best out of it.
“I’m hoping more girls will get involved in the sport so we can get attention. That way, CU can make it an official sport. [Club flag football] is an official club, with a coach now, and it's great, but being able to take it all the way and compete nationally would be amazing.”
An inaugural season is on the horizon. The Buffs’ club team is scheduled to play against the Montana Grizzlies this March, the first collegiate competition for both squads.
But for Munkhsaikhan, the sport isn’t just about having fun. It’s about taking a break from the stressful life of college alongside other flag football fans.
“There’s a lot of great girls here. Meeting new people is one of my favorite parts of flag football," she said. "For the same reasons I did it in high school, it’s to meet new people, and it was the best decision I made. I feel like flag football isn't just a sport for me, but for everybody. I feel like when you're in college, it just takes over all your time, and freeing up the space to make time for what you love saves you so much stress, and it’s a really nice feeling.”
Flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, according to NFL Flag, thanks to accessibility for gender and age differences, safer approaches and recognition from organizations like the NFL and the upcoming 2028 Olympics. As the sport continues to sprawl in popularity, it's opening new doors for female athletes.
Even though other female collegiate sports are offered at most universities, like volleyball and softball, the now-sanctioned sport presents scholarship chances, visibility, representation opportunities and even potential professions in the field.
As of February, at least 65 universities sponsor the sport, either through club or varsity levels. However, the path to a championship is yet to be pioneered. A minimum of 40 schools are needed for the sport to shine under championship lights. The hope for expansion to the varsity level will hopefully be cemented by the '26-27 school year.
“I think it would be really cool to eventually have a D1 team here,” said Lexi Manzo, vice president of CU’s club team. “I think it would be really fun to see that grow and get to see people play.”
However, CU has yet to make its move regarding the sport. Past Colorado’s Eastern plains, the longstanding feud between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Buffaloes could continue. Nebraska is the first Power Four school to add the sport to its varsity level roster, sending the first DI offer to California’s Makena Cook.
Nebraska’s tackle football coach, Matt Rhule, delivered her the offer. Cook, who plays quarterback, was named one of the California All-State Flag Football Players of the Year. However, Cook has already made her verbal commitment to become a Georgia Bulldog for soccer. Nevertheless, the offer stands as a turning point for all flag football players' hopes of pursuing the sport at the collegiate level.
Going forward, the water looks murky for CU’s involvement in the sport. CU’s athletic department is projected to be in a $27 million deficit by June 2026. The sport has an unlikely chance of being added to the Buffs’ roster unless another DI sport is cut on its behalf.
“The added expense created by revenue sharing has definitely posed a significant challenge for CU athletics, but it’s one we’ve been preparing for,” former CU athletic director Rick George told the Daily Camera.
While it’s unclear if CU will join the Cornhuskers, hope remains as the sport continues to grow on and off campus.