Fiesta Bowl sets new women's flag football standard with 8-team tournament featuring NCAA teams

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Rylen Bourguet sprinted down the sideline and then faked a curl toward the quarterback, juking her defender before continuing downfield. The pass that was already in the air was perfect and the Arizona State receiver hauled it in for the game-winning touchdown. It was one of the many highlights of last week's inaugural Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic on the Arizona State campus. Bourguet is confident these game-winning scenes for women's flag football will become more common as the sport continues its widespread growth at the NCAA Division I level. The fast-paced game should also get a popularity boost from the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles — there will be a men's and women's competition in Los Angeles and Bourguet hopes to part of the inaugural team. "It was so awesome — it blew everything I've ever experienced out of the water," Bourguet said of the Fiesta Bowl tournament. "It's great to see how much it's taking off at the youth level, the high school level and now the collegiate level. Seeing what it's become is so surreal — very excited for the generations to come that are going to play the sport." The Fiesta Bowl tournament was more evidence that one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S isn't slowing down anytime soon. There were eight teams in attendance — Arizona State, Alabama State, Georgia, UCF, Florida, Grand Canyon, Charlotte and USC. UCF beat Florida 19-7 to win the tournament title, which was televised on ESPNU. The Fiesta Bowl's Scott Leightman said that roughly 1,500 free tickets were redeemed for spectators at the two-day event. Fiesta Bowl executive director Erik Moses said the tournament went so well that he expects the field to expand in the coming years to 12 or 16 teams. He added that sponsors for the event — such as Oakley — were easy to find. "It is easy to say that women's sport is having a moment," Moses said. "But we're more interested in making sure that this is a movement and not just a moment." Bourguet raved about the experience, saying it was easily the most impressive women's flag football event that they've experienced. There was a dedicated media day, gifts for the athletes, food trucks set up outside the venue and a DJ pumping music over two fields as the games were played. Out of the eight schools, only Alabama State currently offers scholarships while the other seven are classified as club sports. That could change in a hurry: Flag football has been added to the NCAA's Emerging Sports for Women program and Nebraska recently announced women's flag would become a varsity sport there. Georgia coach Caroline Caplinger said she expects the rapid transformation to continue. Her full-time job is working for RCX Sports, which runs NFL FLAG and helps conduct clinics and showcases around the country, including in Pittsburgh last week during the NFL draft. She said there are now nearly 100 NCAA Division I club teams in the country, which is up from about 10 in 2019. NFL FLAG's research says that 4.1 million girls from ages 6-17 played flag football last season — up from 2.9 million in 2022. More than 68,800 girls played high school flag football in 2024, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations' latest participation survey. That's a 60% increase over 2023. "I definitely foresee by 2028 that one, or a couple, Power 4 conferences deciding to make this a varsity sport," Caplinger said. "I know it's on track to become a championship status. It's really grabbing the attention of colleges, at the Division I, II, III and NAIA level. It's a rapid-fire transition and spreading across the country. "I definitely see this sport, that within the next five years, this sport having a true NCAA championship." There are several reasons flag football — particularly on the women's side — is growing. It's relatively inexpensive to play from an equipment standpoint and it highlights the athleticism of football without much of the physical wear and tear. Caplinger said there's little coincidence that a lot of the growth in women's flag football is happening in the footprint of the Southeastern Conference, which has long been a football-crazy area of the country. Florida was one of the first states to have widespread flag football at the high school level. Some of the athletes at the Fiesta Bowl tournament are relatively new to flag football after transitioning from sports like volleyball, basketball and soccer. But with more high schools offering the sport every year, many of the women have played flag football for years. "It's one of the first times that football is really accessible to women — that they get to be on the field and really experience a version of the game," Caplinger said. "The young women on my team love watching the (men's) Georgia Bulldogs go play, they're out there every Saturday and sometimes even travel for the away games. "They love football, they understand it and this gives them a chance to play football, grow their knowledge of the sport and be even more invested in a sport they love watching. It really only takes one passionate girl to come to a school and get everyone else on board."