by Colby Ambeault, special to NY Sports Report
On October 10th, 2011, the New York Jets paved the way for female athletes by partnering with the New York City Public School Athletic League. Through this partnership, the Jets pledged $50,000 yearly in donations to help establish the first girls’ varsity flag football league. What started with 16 participating teams quickly grew to over 60 schools. While this initial partnership was a milestone, it was only a small part of a larger vision. In 2021, the Jets partnered with Nike to launch the first varsity girls’ flag football league in New Jersey, which now has over 100 participating teams. With repetitive lobbying and donations, the Jets were able to help make flag football a state-sanctioned sport in NY and NJ.
Building off the momentum, the Jets and the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation partnered with the ECAC to create and fund the largest collegiate women’s flag football league, with a one-million-dollar grant. On Friday, February 27th, the Inaugural ECAC Women’s Flag Football League Media Day happened at MetLife. Players and coaches from the participating schools were able to tour MetLife, participate in media-related activities, and introduce their teams through press coverage. Also, Dann Coonan (Commissioner of the ECAC), Kay Adams (Host of Up & Adams), Callie Brownson (USA Football’s Senior Director), and Brianna Hernandez-Silva (Team USA Flag Football Player) hosted a panel about the recent growth of women’s flag football and sports overall.
During the panel, Dan Coonan mentioned how women’s flag football has gone “0-60” faster than any other sport. He attributes this growth to the sheer passion that each coach and athlete has for the sport. He also attributed the quick and effective setup of the league to the passion and trust that each participating organization had. Kay Adams also added on explaining how this quick growth is a result of people seeing “women’s flag [as] not a moment, [but] a movement.” And after this media day, it is clear that people believe in this movement.
Ryann Blount, a Freshman Running Back for LIU, explained how she believes that “the sky is the limit,” and how, in the next 10 years, flag football will grow to something bigger, giving more girls and women opportunities.
Coach Jim Kelly, Head Coach of the Montclair State Women’s Flag Football Team, agrees. He explained how, although a lot has been done, there is still much to accomplish, and as a community, we need to continue moving the needle. In the end, with the inaugural season of the ECAC beginning and flag football coming to the LA28 Olympics, there is no doubt that women’s and girls’ flag football is here to stay, and that over the next few years, it will continue to gain momentum and move that needle.
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