GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart and William Smith Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Brian Miller announced today that flag football will become the department's 31st sport when it takes the field in the spring of 2027.
 
A search for the program's first head coach is underway. Once hired, the coach will focus on recruiting to build the program's inaugural roster.
 
"We are excited to expand our athletic opportunities for women with the addition of flag football," Miller said. "As with all of our Heron teams, we expect our flag football program to add to that rich legacy of champions, while fostering and empowering a new generation of leaders."
 
"When researching the possibility of adding flag to our roster of varsity sports, we communicated closely with NFL Flag and the Buffalo Bills who will continue to serve as partners as HWS Athletics strives to provide the best experience possible for our future Heron flag football student-athletes," Miller added.
 
Flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and was recently added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
 
New York State is one of 17 states that has sanctioned flag football at the high school level. In the spring of 2026, more than 200 New York high schools are expected to field a flag football team, including 39 in Section V. There are more than 43,000 girls nationwide playing high school flag football according to the NFHS.
 
At the collegiate level, nearly 70 NCAA institutions sponsor flag football. Locally, Brockport, Elmira, Geneseo, Hartwick, and Russell Sage have varsity flag football teams. The Knights began play this past spring, while the Golden Eagles, Soaring Eagles, Hawks and Gators will play their inaugural season in 2026. William Smith will be the first team in the Liberty League to sponsor flag football.
 
In February, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics recommended that Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. That legislation will be voted on at the 2026 NCAA Convention in January. Once in the program, flag football must have at least 40 schools sponsoring the sport at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participation requirements to be considered for championship status.

Flag football rosters have approximately 25 players and compete 7-v-7 on an 80' x 40' field. The Herons will call McCooey Field their home. Game play consists of 12-minute quarters. The offense has four downs to cross each 20-yard line for a first down. Players wear a tightly fixed belt with two flags, one on each hip.