Women's flag football is a new sport at California Lutheran University.

Recognizing the game’s growing popularity in high schools across the state  — including those in Ventura County — the university will debut flag football as a club sport this spring, intending to develop it into an NCAA Division III-sanctioned program by the 2026-27 school year.

Athletic Director Howard Davis called the decision a “no-brainer.”

“The demand in our area and throughout the state is unmistakable, given its growth and success. Very quickly, flag football will be ubiquitous throughout the college athletics landscape,” Davis said. “I’m proud that Cal Lutheran is an early adopter and excited to add what I believe will be another elite athletic program for us.”

Almost unheard of a decade ago, flag football is now a sanctioned girls’ varsity high school sport in 11 states. At the collegiate level, 25 NAIA schools and several NCAA Division III institutions offer flag football.

Flag football will debut as an Olympic event at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

According to USA Football, there were over 230,000 girls ages 6 to 17 playing flag football in the United States in 2023, up 44% since 2014. The sport is played in 100 different countries.

The sport’s growth has been fueled by the NFL, which sees the game as a means to expand football’s global popularity. Because it requires very little equipment — just a football and flags — and only seven players to field a team, it’s considered much more accessible than traditional tackle football.

Cal Lutheran is the second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member school to announce its intent to add women’s flag football. The University of Redlands did so recently, and additional SCIAC institutions are expected to follow suit.

“We’re very confident that we’ll be able to build a schedule come spring and, in the coming years, recruit some of the best student-athletes around,” Davis said.

Until then, the university hopes to field a team from the current student body. Team activities will begin in January.

Davis said Cal Lutheran is in the process of selecting a head coach and will make an announcement once the decision is made. The future team will practice on Memorial Field in the center of campus and play games at William Rolland Stadium, mirroring the Kingsmen football team. Student-athletes interested in competing in women’s flag football can fill out the interest form on Cal Lutheran’s website.

The decision to introduce women’s flag football comes as part of the university’s ongoing commitment to expanding its athletic offerings and providing a well-rounded and diverse student experience. The university added women’s lacrosse in 2020.

“Cal Lutheran has a long history of meeting student needs at an elite level by providing a comprehensive educational experience, and the addition of women’s flag football is the most recent example,” Interim President John Nunes said. “I’m excited for Cal Lutheran to be a leader in this sport, and excited to cheer for Regals football.”