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St. Joseph’s University, New York is set to become the first four-year college on Long Island to offer women’s flag football this spring, with teams at both its Patchogue and Brooklyn campuses, the university announced today.
The move comes as the sport continues to surge in popularity across Long Island, where 29 high schools fielded teams this past spring, as well as throughout the state. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) officially sanctioned girls’ flag football as a championship sport in February 2022, culminating in the state’s first championship tournament last June.
“We are beyond excited to be able to offer this new opportunity for our female student-athletes at St. Joseph’s University, New York,” said Megan Valentine, director of athletics and recreation for St. Joseph’s Brooklyn Campus. “Flag football is the fastest-growing emerging high school sport, and it is vitally important that we provide opportunities for high school girls to continue competing at the next level.”
Kerry Connolly, who already serves as the women’s basketball coach at St. Joe’s Long Island Campus, was named head coach of the new flag football team. The university has started a search for the Brooklyn coaching position.
The sport’s rapid growth is evident in national participation numbers, with nearly 500,000 female youths participating in NFL flag football leagues in the past year. Thirteen states have now sanctioned girls’ flag football as a championship sport.
St. Joseph’s will be the first Skyline Conference institution to field women’s flag football teams.
“This is an exciting time to announce this addition to St. Joseph’s athletic offerings,” Skyline Conference Commissioner Melissa Reilly said. “Girl’s and women’s flag football is exploding and by adding this program, St. Joseph’s is creating more opportunities for young women to compete in intercollegiate athletics.
“We are dedicated to assisting in their efforts and commend St. Joseph’s for being pioneers in this area,” she added.
Home games at the OFC
The Long Island Campus team’s home games will be played at Danzi Stadium, which is part of the university’s Outdoor Field Complex, located on the Sunrise Highway Service Road about a mile east of campus. The stadium is featured in the video above.
The timing of St. Joseph’s program launch also aligns with flag football’s growing international recognition. The sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where men’s and women’s teams will compete.
Flag football is played on an 80×40 yard field in a seven-on-seven format, with four 12-minute quarters. Teams typically carry about 25 players, though there are currently no official roster caps.
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has reported that about 500,000 girls between the ages of 6-17 played flag football in 2023.
Long Island schools fared well in the state’s inaugural high school flag football tournament, with Plainview-Old Bethpage winning the Division I championship and Sayville finishing as the runner-up in Division II.
Top images: (inset) St. Joseph’s University, New York’s Danzi Stadium via YouTube, and (feature) Half Hollows Hills girls flag football via Facebook.
