— Builds on 6-2 Record in Successful Inaugural Season —
St. Thomas Aquinas College will expand its varsity athletics offerings this fall by elevating women’s flag football from club to varsity status. The Spartans will also join the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women’s Flag Football League during the 2026-27 academic year, becoming part of one of the nation’s premier collegiate competitions in one of America’s fastest-growing emerging sports.
The move comes just one year after the College introduced women’s flag football as a club sport, where the Spartans compiled a 6-2 record in their inaugural season. The addition brings St. Thomas Aquinas College’s NCAA Division II varsity athletics program to 22 sports.
The timing also coincides with a landmark moment for the sport. In January 2026, the NCAA approved women’s flag football as an Emerging Sport for Women, paving the way for colleges and universities across the country to establish varsity programs. As interest continues to grow nationwide, the sport is also set to make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028.
“At St. Thomas Aquinas College, we believe our responsibility is to help lead change in academics and experiences for students,” said St. Thomas Aquinas College President Ken Daly. “Women’s flag football represents an exciting new chapter in collegiate athletics, and we are proud to invest in this program at a defining moment in its history. By elevating women’s flag football to the varsity level, we are creating new opportunities for women to compete, lead, and thrive, while helping shape the future of a sport that will inspire generations of student-athletes.”
Beginning this fall, the Spartans will compete in the ECAC Women’s Flag Football League, a conference supported by the New York Jets that includes institutions from NCAA Divisions I, II and III. The league championship is held at MetLife Stadium, giving student-athletes the opportunity to compete on one of professional football’s premier stages.
“We launched women’s flag football as a club sport just one year ago because we saw tremendous potential in both the sport and our student-athletes,” said Margaret Alaimo, Director of Athletics at St. Thomas Aquinas College. “The enthusiasm we have seen from our student-athletes, combined with the national momentum behind women’s flag football, made elevating the program to varsity status a natural next step. We are excited to compete in the
ECAC while building a program that gives our student-athletes the opportunity to make history and compete at the highest collegiate level.”
For more information, please contact the Head Coach, Josh Maurer, at jmaurer@stac.edu or visit the website: stacathletics.com/sports/flagfball.
About St. Thomas Aquinas College
St. Thomas Aquinas College St. Thomas Aquinas College is an independent liberal arts college located on 76 acres in Rockland County, NY, providing education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College’s diverse student body of approximately 2,000 full and part-time students can choose from over 100 majors, minors, and specializations across four Schools: Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Education, and STEM. The College is recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the Top-Tier for Regional Universities, and by Colleges of Distinction in its New York edition for Business, Education, and Career Development. The College is also recognized as a Yellow Ribbon Program institution. St. Thomas Aquinas College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; its School of Education is accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), and its School of Business is accredited by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE). For more information, visit www.stac.edu.