By Gil Pound 

A fter hosting a successful flag football regional tournament this weekend featuring over 30 teams, Georgia College & State University announces its women’s club flag football team will take the field in the inaugural season of the NIRSA Club Flag League that kicks off in January.  

With over 80 schools across the country signed on, Georgia College will line up against the likes of the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina in the league’s Atlantic Piedmont Division.  

“Joining the NIRSA Club Flag League gives our athletes a structured, competitive season and the chance to further showcase the program at home and on a national stage,” said Nolan Baugh, associate director of GCSU Wellness and Recreation. 

Currently in its second year as a club sports program, Georgia College’s women’s team played five games in its first season last spring. Under the league’s schedule, GCSU will compete in up to 18 games during the spring 2027 semester with the chance to win conference and national championships. 

“The regular slate of matchups will give players consistent competition against other collegiate programs and a clear season to build toward,” Baugh added. “We will also host two tournaments on campus, offering students, families and community members a chance to see the program up close and cheer on the Bobcats at home.” 

The National Intramural-Recreation Sports Association (NIRSA) launched the Club Flag League in partnership with the National Football League, adding to the surge in flag football participation nationwide. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 102,000 girls played high school flag football during the 2025-26 academic year, accounting for a 551% increase over the last four years. Men’s and women’s flag football is also debuting as an Olympic sport for the 2028 Summer games in Los Angeles. 

Creating a structured league at the collegiate level gives young women, including those at Georgia College, a way to continue enjoying the game on an even larger scale. 

“This is where the NIRSA Club Flag Football League starts to feel real,” says Pam Watts, executive director of NIRSA. “We’re building a national collegiate structure where schools can compete regionally, develop rivalries and ultimately earn the opportunity to compete for a national championship.” 

GCSU men and co-rec teams take second in NIRSA regional 

Georgia College was a hub for flag football action over the weekend as the intramural fields turned into tournament central, playing host to the NIRSA Southeast Regional tournament. Men’s, women’s and co-recreation teams – both club and intramural – competed for a coveted automatic bid to the NIRSA National Flag Football Championships to be held in Round Rock Texas, January 5-7, 2027. 

All GCSU teams qualified for nationals as the men’s team, the defending NIRSA national champs, finished second in their division behind North Carolina State University. The Bobcat co-rec team also took second after losing in the finals to High Point University. The Georgia College women’s team was a semifinalist, as was a second GCSU men’s team. 

450 athletes representing 31 teams from schools across the Southeast were in attendance for the three-day event. Participation reached as far north as NC State, as far west as the University of Alabama and as far south as the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa. Competitors, families and visiting tournament staff stayed in local hotels and ate in local restaurants, adding to Georgia College’s annual economic impact to the region. 

Some 50 tournament staff ensured everything ran smoothly, from setting up game fields to scorekeeping. Grant Phillips, a GCSU senior Exercise Science major from Johns Creek, Georgia, is interning with Wellness and Recreation this semester and served as a member of the tournament host committee. Phillips received valuable hands-on experience in event planning and management. 

“There was a lot more behind-the-scenes planning than I ever thought – everything from getting staff from other universities into hotels to getting meals organized to talking about logistics of parking and transportation,” said Phillips, who will complete his undergraduate degree next month before beginning a master’s in health and human performance. “When the event was finally here and all put together, it was super rewarding to see it come to fruition and have that many people come to our campus. It was a very successful tournament.”

Header Images: GCSU men’s, women’s and co-recreation teams – both club and intramural – competed Nov. 6, 7 and 8 when GCSU hosted the NIRSA Southeast Regional tournament. Photos by Rylee Sargent.