Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a private liberal arts institution in Indiana, will field a varsity women’s flag football team for the 2027-28 academic year and has appointed Lane Slunker, a former sprint football player at SMWC, as its inaugural head coach.
Kevin Lanke, the college’s associate vice president for athletics, said the move reflects a surge in demand for the sport both locally and across the nation, noting that the program joins a wave of NAIA schools embracing the fast-growing discipline.
Midway University in Kentucky and Faulkner University in Alabama are slated to field their own teams in the same cycle, while Wiley University in Texas will first compete at the club level in 2026-27 before transitioning to varsity status the following year.
A Growing Footprint for Women’s Flag Football
The expansion comes amid a mixed picture for the sport: several programs have been suspended or shuttered, including pauses at Bluefield State University and Fort Scott Community College, and closures at Siena Heights University, Anna Maria College and Lourdes University. Nonetheless, the NAIA projects that more than 60 teams will be competing in the 2026-27 season, with at least 65 expected next year.
The initiative also highlights regional participation, with Indiana now home to nine institutions offering club or varsity flag football, and signals a broader push to institutionalize the sport within collegiate athletics.