Webber International University adds women's flag football
Babson Park, Fla. (05/14/2020) — Webber International University athletics and Director of Athletics Darren Richie have announced the addition of women's flag football as the school's 24th intercollegiate sport.
In addition to being the newest sport within the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the NAIA is partnering with the National Football League (NFL) and Reigning Champs Experiences (RCX) to bring the newest collegiate sport to a campus near you.
With support from NFL FLAG and RCX, NAIA will work to develop league infrastructure and operations for the first women's flag football competition governed by a collegiate athletics association.
"Football is for everyone," NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said. "This groundbreaking and historic joint venture provides an opportunity for the values, fun and competitive environment of football to be enjoyed as a varsity sport by female student-athletes attending NAIA institutions across America."
As the official operating partner of NFL FLAG and the NAIA Showcases, RCX will help facilitate women's collegiate flag football across the NAIA and drive participation through women's flag football NAIA Showcases. The NAIA will host its first Showcase open to female football athletes in the late summer or early fall of 2020.
"Increasing female participation in flag football has been a top priority for NFL FLAG," said Izell Reese, RCX President and General Manager. "By teaming up with the NAIA, we're able to create even more opportunities for young women to continue the sport they love, and potentially receive scholarships to continue their education and compete at the next level."
"The NAIA is thrilled to partner with the NFL and RCX in launching women's flag football," said Jim Carr, NAIA president and CEO. "This is a fantastic opportunity for our members to expand their athletics programming with support from valuable partners like RCX and one of the most relevant and successful professional sports leagues in the world."
The NAIA will begin working with NFL FLAG and RCX immediately to outline competition guidelines and next steps for schools and conferences interested in instituting women's flag. The first competitive season will be held in the spring of 2021.
The NAIA will host an emerging sport or invitational championship in the spring of 2022. An emerging sport in the NAIA is defined as at least 15 participating institutions, while invitational can be defined as at least 25. A sport must have a minimum of 40 participating institutions to be considered for full championship status.
Other schools in the state of Florida adding the NAIA's newest collegiate sport include St. Thomas University, Florida Memorial University, Warner University and Keiser University.
A national search for a coach at Webber is currently being conducted. For more information or for consideration, please contact Mr. Darren Richie at 863-638-2953 (richieda@webber.edu).
NAIA Release: https://www.naia.org/sports/wflag/2020-21/releases/WFLAG_LaunchAnnouncement_2020
Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5BXbVvqLE8&feature=youtu.be
Webber International University is a small, private business university, located on a beautiful 110-acre campus along the shoreline of Crooked Lake, 45 minutes from Orlando, Disney World and Universal Studios.
Established in 1927 by Roger Babson as the first college chartered under Florida's then new charitable and educational laws, and one of the first schools of business for women in the nation, Webber International University now educates men and women from over 50 different nations. Degrees are offered at the associate's, bachelor's, and master's level through traditional day, accelerated night and weekend, and entirely on-line formats. Joining Webber as a branch campus in 2011, St. Andrews University (Laurinburg, NC) offers a comprehensive liberal arts program and has roots dating to 1896. The University features highly qualified faculty, highly engaged staff, small class size, and a wide array of intercollegiate sports and other extracurricular activities. The University has been recognized as a US News and World Reports Best Regional Colleges: South, a Princeton Review Best Southeastern College, and has earned Petersons' top marks for academics, value and community. The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and numerous programs have earned additional programmatic accreditations.
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