The move by Austin’s private, Lutheran college comes as women’s flag football is gaining momentum worldwide. The sport will debut at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 and is being considered by the NCAA through its Emerging Sports for Women program, Concordia’s Director of Athletics Ronda Seagraves said.
The setup
Concordia launched a pilot program to begin offering women’s flag football under the direction of head coach Keenan Hughes and his son Kaden Hughes, who is the team's assistant coach. The father-son duo lead Texas Fury—an all-girls select flag football program that has teams across the state.
The university opened applications for the spring sport in August. The team currently has around 15 players who practice for a couple of hours every week, Keenan and Kaden Hughes said. They hope to grow the team to around 20-24 players and are actively recruiting students to join for next school year.
In April, Concordia plans to host a tournament featuring a few universities in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference that have women’s flag football teams.
The university expects to offer women’s flag football as a club sport by 2026 featuring more structured competition opportunities. By 2027, Concordia is aiming to offer women’s flag football as a varsity sport, including daily practices and the ability to compete in conference championships, Keenan Hughes said.
The background
Concordia decided to launch a women’s flag football program after joining the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference this fall, Seagraves said.
Around four of the conference’s 12 universities have expressed their intention to participate in the sport, she said. Meanwhile, conference officials are continuing to recruit more universities to offer these programs, Keenan Hughes said.
The women's sport has been popular among high schools on the East Coast for more than 20 years in states such as Florida, he said. Nearly 21,000 high school girls participated in flag football in the 2022-23 school year, up by 32% from the previous school year, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Despite seeing growth across the country, women’s flag football has not gained much traction in Texas, he said. Texas Fury’s efforts to implement these programs at high schools and universities has been “an uphill battle,” Keenan Hughes said.
Concordia hopes more universities will adopt the sport to ensure students have more opportunities to compete, Seagraves said.
The impact
The new sport will expand Concordia's offerings for female athletes, Seagraves said. Although female students make up around 60% of the student body, they currently account for only 40% of the student-athlete population, she said.
“We've provided a platform for them to compete at a high level, promoting gender equity in sports,” Keenan Hughes said. “It's giving them opportunities that were historically limited to them.”
In their own words
Concordia students and twin sisters Doxa and Chrisma Maulolo said they have developed a love for flag football since joining the team this fall. Doxa Maulolo, who is a sophomore education major, said she was drawn to the challenge of learning the complexities of a new sport after playing softball for years.
“It’s kind of like a symphony,” Doxa Maulolo said about flag football. “All the notes have to be correct in order to be harmonic, and when it is, it’s beautiful.”
Chrisma Maulolo, a junior kinesiology major, said she is looking forward to developing leadership skills and seeing her teammates grow.
“We're going to really push that you become a great teammate and a great leader, not only on the field, but off the field,” Keenan Hughes said.
