Baldwin Wallace University announced in January that it will launch a varsity women’s flag football program, which will begin play in the spring of 2027. BW will be the first school to establish flag football as a varsity sport in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).
In March, Todd Fox (’95) was named the program’s inaugural head coach. Fox coached high school football for 12 seasons and has spent the last three as a defensive assistant for BW’s men’s football team. Fox brings valuable experience and campus familiarity to the new organization.
The inception of women’s flag football at BW represents the continuation of a transformative era in collegiate athletics across the nation. As the program develops, it stands to have lasting impact on athletes at all levels, from grade school to professional.
Women’s flag football is growing across the nation at both the college and high school levels. In July of 2025, the Ohio High School Athletic Association sanctioned flag football as an OHSAA varsity sport. Ohio now has 121 high schools with flag football teams. The first state championship game will be held on May 16 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.
Additionally, women’s flag football will be played at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In an interview with The Exponent, Fox noted that the country has seen a jump from 25 to 125 collegiate programs in just the last two years. This is important because, in order for the NCAA to sponsor the game as a championship sport, at least 40 schools must have competing programs. He is excited that Baldwin Wallace is helping to lead the growth of the game.
A flag football game looks very similar to a tackle football game, played on a smaller scale. The standard field is 80 yards long and 40 yards wide. Seven players on each team are on the field at a time, different from the 11 in tackle football. The game timing is the same, however. An NCAA flag football game consists of four 15-minute quarters. It plays at a faster pace, allowing for lots of excitement and appeal to fans.
It is unclear at this time which schools will be on the Yellow Jackets’ schedule next spring, but we can expect to see a few new OAC teams joining BW in the sport. BW is also expected to compete against other Division III programs in the surrounding region.
According to Fox, the idea to form a varsity flag football team at BW was first pitched to President Lee Fisher in December of 2025. The plan was quickly approved and announced the following month.
Fox has spent the last three months assembling a coaching staff and recruiting potential players.
During the first week of April, he held a skill session workout, to which more than 20 students showed up. The program has also begun recruiting high school students to play flag football at BW. According to Fox, the university has been in contact with more than 200 potential athletes. He plans to fill out a roster of about 30 players. He is looking for hard-working, team-focused students to build a positive culture for his new team.
Sky Regan, a junior on BW’s women’s basketball team, is one of the students interested in playing during the inaugural season next spring. She is excited to be a part of the first ever team at a school with a storied athletic history. Regan also sees this as an opportunity for growth for both Baldwin Wallace and the students involved. She looks forward to “learning how to collaborate with others in creating something new and long-lasting for our university.” She sees flag football as a way to bring people together and form a tight-knit, competitive community.
Regan’s basketball teammate, sophomore Addison Weimer, also plans to play for Fox next season. She highlighted the intrigue of being a part of something brand new and bigger than one person. “I think it will bring in eyes on a new sport. I think BW flag football as a college sport can draw more people together, and creating a great culture around this first team will help grow the program,” Weimer said.
The women’s flag football program will bring opportunity to both current and prospective BW students. College students can become student-athletes, and high school students may pursue a collegiate athletic career that, just a few years ago, was not possible. As noted by Fox and interested team members, this new sport has the potential to create a valuable community on campus and beyond. Fox sees the program and ones like it as opportunities for “empowering women all throughout the country and (for) generations to come.”
