Today’s edition presented by GameBreaker

TMRW Sports and the NFL open a global talent search at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where 57 athletes from nine countries competed in the first pro flag qualifier. Robert Morris and Assumption add varsity women's flag football, and Westminster in Utah launches a fully funded club team. Wallace State stretches its winning streak to 36, and Shelton State blanks Northwest Shoals for a fourth straight shutout. Roanoke and LaGrange name head coaches, SUNY Cortland joins the NCFA, and the Boston Globe profiles Roxbury Community College's start. TMRW fills out its front office, iFlag Youth launches Road to Worlds, and Josh Saunders and Matt Hernandez have a coaching book due in November. Culver-Stockton builds toward spring 2028, GSAC games move to Overnght, and NIRSA's club league keeps growing in a long edition of WCFFB Wire.

TMRW Sports / NFL Professional Flag Football TMRW and NFL hold first pro flag talent qualifier at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

TMRW Sports / David Schaefer; Oct. 6, 2026.

TMRW Sports, in partnership with the NFL, held its first talent qualifier for the professional flag football league the two organizations are developing. The event was at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, which hosted Sunday's NFL London Game (Colts over Commanders) and hosts the Eagles and Jaguars this Sunday. TMRW invited 57 elite women's and men's flag football athletes from nine countries for a day and a half of evaluations: Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Australia. The athletes went through measurements, combine stations, one-on-one and position drills, flag-pull technique, coaching, and simulated gameplay.

Champ Kelly, senior vice president of flag football operations, led the qualifier with TMRW's new player personnel staff. "London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – that's how you open a global search," Kelly said. "The invited athletes came to compete and be evaluated, with the top performers getting the call to next year's combine. But I also want to be clear, we're casting a wide net. We want flag football's elite, and we want the cross-sport athlete who doesn't even know yet that flag is their sport." TMRW plans more invite-only and open tryouts for women and men in the U.S. and other international cities later this year and next year. The NFL and IFAF are supporting the talent process.

Kelly's personnel department has two directors. Matt Hernandez is a USA Football women's assistant coach, head flag coach at Alonso High School, and co-author of Coaching Flag Football with Josh Saunders. Ronnie McGill played for the Houston Texans and New England Patriots and is a three-time Super Bowl champion. Caroline Caplinger, Salli Clavelle, Cameron Morris, and Michael Pierce are managers of player personnel. The broader operations staff includes Vanita Krouch, Anastasia Ali, Janna Williams, Jason George, Eric Sugarman, Matt Sheldon, Eric Bowman, and Vikaya Powell. Together, the staff has 11 Super Bowl appearances, four Super Bowl championships, and four IFAF Flag Football World Championship appearances with three gold medals. TMRW and the NFL still plan to launch the women's and men's pro league ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with support from all 32 NFL club owners through 32 Equity.

NCAA Division I Robert Morris adds NCAA Division I Women's Flag Football

Robert Morris University Athletics; Oct. 6, 2026.

Robert Morris University announced Tuesday that it is adding NCAA Division I women's flag football. The Colonials will begin competing in 2027-28 as they build an inaugural roster. "Adding women's flag football is a tremendous opportunity for female student-athletes and for Robert Morris University," said Dr. Ron Moses, vice president and director of athletics. "As this sport continues its remarkable growth, we have an opportunity to provide talented student-athletes with a Division I competitive experience and an outstanding RMU education. We're excited to build a program that reflects the momentum of the sport and the standards we have for Robert Morris Athletics."

RMU will start a national search for its first head coach next week. That coach will recruit the first roster and set the program's culture and identity. The school, 17 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, currently sponsors 19 NCAA Division I sports. Dixon's Collegiate Flag Football reports that RMU is the second Horizon League school with flag football and the first at the varsity level. By his count, 26 Division I schools have added or plan to add varsity programs, and 18 of them compete in 2026-27 (secondary). Details on the coaching hire, the competition schedule, and recruiting will come through RMUColonials.com.

NCAA Division II Assumption University adds women's flag football for spring 2028

Assumption University Athletics; Oct. 5, 2026.

Assumption University announced it is adding women's flag football, which makes the Worcester, Mass., school one of the first in the Northeast to start a collegiate program. The program begins in fall 2027 and plays its first season in spring 2028. "As one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, women's flag football provides an exciting new opportunity for student-athletes to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level," said director of athletics Eric Gobiel. "We can't wait to see our women take the field and help lay the foundation for the future of collegiate women's flag football in the years to come." Assumption expects the program to help build regional competition in the Northeast and to draw new students.

A national search for the first head coach starts immediately, with the application linked from the release. Dixon reports that Assumption is the second Northeast-10 school with varsity flag football, after Franklin Pierce. The first season, coaching staff, and recruiting details will be announced later at assumptiongreyhounds.com.

NCAA Division II Westminster launches fully funded women's flag football club for fall 2027

Westminster Griffins, Westminster University Athletics; Oct. 5, 2026.

Westminster University announced that it is launching women's flag football as a club sport beginning in fall 2027. The Salt Lake City school says it will be the only university in Utah with a club program "fully funded by the university and led by a dedicated coaching staff." The Griffins will play 7v7 at Dumke Field. "This is an exciting day for Westminster and for women's sports," said athletic director Shelley Jarrard. "At a time of change in college athletics, adding flag football creates new opportunities for our student-athletes and builds on Westminster's commitment to women's athletics."

The release notes that nearly 400 club and varsity teams will compete nationally in 2026-27. Collegiate Flag Football reports that Westminster is the first RMAC school to add the sport and the second Utah school with a team. The school has posted a head coach opening, and the first coach's goal is a roster of 11 to 15 players.

Alabama Community College Conference, NJCAA ACCC roundup: Wallace sweeps to 36 straight; Shelton blanks Northwest Shoals

Wallace State beat Lurleen B. Wallace and Calhoun on Sunday in Hanceville to move to 10–0 and stretch its winning streak to 36

In the opener, Wallace beat LBW 40–7 after falling behind early. LBW went up 7–0 when it intercepted a batted pass on Wallace's first possession and returned it for a touchdown. Wallace then scored the game's last 40 points, 20 in the second quarter and 20 in the third. Emma Kile went 27-of-39 for a season-high 403 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Mariah Ragland caught 8 passes for 107 yards and two scores, and Taylor Kindred had 7 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Ma'Kayla Williams, Destinee Ealy, and Telecia Ransom also caught touchdowns. KJ Ross had three sacks and Aniya Tyson had two (box score).

In the nightcap, Wallace beat Calhoun 27–6, its second win over Calhoun in eight days after a 31–0 victory on Sept. 27. The game had only nine drives. Wallace scored on four of its five, while three of Calhoun's four ended in interceptions by Ragland, Ransom, and JaSkylar Simpkins. Kile went 26-of-40 for 278 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Kindred and Williams caught two touchdowns each, and Tamya White had seven flag pulls. Wallace led 14–6 at halftime and held Calhoun scoreless after the break (box score).

Shelton State beat Northwest Shoals 40–0 in Tuscaloosa for its fourth straight shutout. The Bucs are 10–1 overall and 9–1 in the ACCC, with five straight wins in which they've outscored opponents 205–7. Dee Morales went 17-of-25 for 271 yards and three touchdowns, and she also caught a touchdown pass from Lily Bell. Madelyn DePetrillo threw a touchdown and caught a 61-yard score. Bell threw one touchdown and ran for another. Emma Brown had 6 catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Bug Kendall had 10 pressures, Emma Allenbach had six flag pulls, and Lanieya Page had an interception (box score). Shelton has its first open date this weekend.

Elsewhere on the ACCC board, Calhoun beat LBW 26–6 at a neutral site, and Bishop State beat Chattahoochee Valley 27–0 in conference play and Enterprise 32–12 in a non-conference game. No box scores were posted for those three. No results were posted for Snead State's home games against Tennessee Southern and West Alabama or for Enterprise vs. Chattahoochee Valley.

The ACCC standings show Wallace at 10–0 and Shelton at 9–1 in conference and 10–1 overall. Calhoun is 7–6, Bishop State is 4–4 in conference and 5–6 overall, Lurleen B. Wallace is 4–7, Northwest Shoals is 2–9, Enterprise is 1–6 in conference and 1–9 overall, and Chattahoochee Valley is 0–9. Southern Union still shows as unbeaten because the board hasn't counted Shelton's 39–0 win on Sept. 27.

Look-ahead: Wallace State takes its streak to Southern Union on Sunday Alabama Community College Conference schedule; Oct. 11, 2026.

The headline game of Sunday's ACCC slate is Wallace State at Southern Union at 2:00 p.m. It's the Bison's first game since Shelton handed them their first loss. Wallace then plays Bishop State at Southern Union at 3:30 p.m., and Bishop State plays the host Bison at 4:00 p.m. In north Alabama, Enterprise plays at Northwest Shoals at 2:00 p.m., Snead State plays Enterprise in a tri-match game at 3:30 p.m., and Snead plays at Northwest Shoals at 5:00 p.m. Shelton, Calhoun, Lurleen B. Wallace, and Chattahoochee Valley are off.

Elizabeth Faust, Head Women’s Flag Football Coach, Roanoke College

Roanoke Maroons, Old Dominion Athletic Conference, NCAA Division III Roanoke names former USA Football national team manager Elizabeth Faust inaugural coach
Roanoke College Athletics; Oct. 2, 2026.

Roanoke College named Elizabeth Faust the first head coach of its women's flag football program, which begins varsity play in spring 2028 in the ODAC. Faust started Oct. 5. She spent more than 10 years at USA Football, where she managed the men's and women's flag national teams and helped build the U15 and U17 junior national team program. She also worked with NFL FLAG from 2012 to 2019. Most recently, she was associate director of donor experience at the Virginia Athletics Foundation at UVA. She holds two degrees from the University of Tennessee.

Bryonne Herring, LaGrange College Head Flag Football Coach

LaGrange Panthers, NCAA Division III LaGrange hands program to Bryonne Herring
LaGrange College Athletics; Oct. 2, 2026.

LaGrange College named Bryonne Herring head coach of its women's flag football program. Herring was the first head coach at Meredith College. Before that, he was head flag football coach and head strength coach at SUNY Brockport, his alma mater, where he played football and graduated in 2015. He earned a master's degree in strength and conditioning from LaGrange in 2018 and has coached strength at RIT, Mount Olive, and King's (Pa.).

Matthew Dixon's Collegiate Flag Football reports that he replaces Breana Sumpter, who left for Gettysburg.

Roxbury Community College, NJCAA Boston Globe spotlights Roxbury, Massachusetts' first varsity women's flag program
The Boston Globe (Avery Hill); Oct. 6, 2026]

The Boston Globe profiled Roxbury Community College, the first school in Massachusetts with a varsity women's flag football program. The program started with a $5,000 NJCAA grant. Coach Randy Phillips's first team went 2–7 and played in the NJCAA invitational championship. The story includes interviews with college president Jonathan Jefferson, athletic director Albert Hayle, Phillips, and friend of the site Matthew Dixon, and it looks ahead to five New England schools adding varsity programs in 2027.

National Collegiate Flag Association (Club) SUNY Cortland Joins the NCFA
Oct. 6, 2026

SUNY Cortland has joined the National Collegiate Flag Association and now appears in the North Atlantic–West division. The North Atlantic East division has Iona, Providence, Sacred Heart, and UConn. The West division has Albany, Niagara, Syracuse, Vermont, and Cortland. Cortland hosts Syracuse the week of Nov. 2–8. Between Feb. 15 and March 7, 2027, it plays at Albany and hosts Vermont and Niagara. The NCFA's first West division games are the week of Oct. 12.

Westcliff Warriors, NAIA Westcliff Will Play Spring 2027 as an Independent
Collegiate Flag Football (Matthew Dixon); Oct. 6, 2026 (secondary; based on the team's Instagram schedule).

Collegiate Flag Football reports that Westcliff will play its spring 2027 season as an NAIA independent, with 11 opponents on a schedule the team posted on Instagram. Westcliff's athletics site hasn't posted the schedule yet. Westcliff announced the addition of their program in May.

TMRW Sports / NFL Professional Flag Football TMRW Adds Four Executives to Pro Flag Football Leadership
TMRW Sports / David Schaefer; Oct. 1–2, 2026.

TMRW Sports announced four executives for the professional flag football league it is developing with the NFL. Brendan Donohue, TMRW's president of flag football, made the announcement, which follows Champ Kelly's earlier appointment as senior vice president of flag football operations. Laura Andriani, formerly of Two Circles, is senior vice president of marketing and will lead marketing, digital, social, and communications. Alyssa Marks, who has worked for the LPGA and NBA, is vice president of partnerships and will focus on revenue growth and brand relationships. Thomas McHardy, formerly with the NFL and with TMRW's TGL golf league since 2023, is vice president of strategy and development and will shape growth and long-term strategy. Steve Worling, who comes from NASCAR and Virgin Voyages, is vice president of technology and will oversee competition, venue, and core infrastructure technology. T

iFlag Youth / 5v5 Sports iFlag Youth Launches Road to Worlds Connected Season

Allen Hamilton / iFlag Youth (powered by 5v5 Sports); Oct. 1, 2026.

iFlag Youth launched Road to Worlds, a season-long tournament path for competitive youth flag football. Five regional Premier Circuits (SoCal, NorCal, Tampa Bay, Las Vegas, and Dallas) feed into the iFlag National Championship and the iFlag World Championship. Every Premier Circuit tournament is open to all teams without a qualifying bid, and the 2026–27 calendar lists 24 of them. Nationals are Jan. 15–17, 2027, at the Sportsplex of Tampa Bay, with registration open now.

Worlds are July 9–11, 2027, at Ontario Sports Empire in Ontario, California. Starting at Nationals in January, WorldPath Points will tie participation and results to future seeding. iFlag says the points are not a national ranking and are not required for entry, and full scoring details are due in December. Every 2027 Road to Worlds tournament offers boys and girls divisions from 7U through 18U. "Coaches have been asking for a season that connects, where the tournament you play in November has a place in the road to July," said Monty Holloway, CEO of iFlag Youth. Coaches and families can filter the full season by month, age group, and boys or girls at iflagyouth.com/tournaments.

Saunders and Hernandez release Coaching Flag Football this November
Mark Allemand / Human Kinetics; Sept. 23, 2026.

Human Kinetics announced Coaching Flag Football by U.S. national team coaches Joshua Saunders and Matt Hernandez. It comes out Nov. 16, 2026, at $27.95 in paperback and $20.95 as an ebook, and preorders are open. The book covers program culture and leadership, managing staff and parents, season and practice planning, teaching offense, defense, and special teams, and game preparation. It's written for high school, youth, and college coaches, as well as athletic administrators starting programs. Saunders is head coach at Robinson High School in Tampa. From 2014 to 2026, his teams won 11 Florida state titles and two national titles and went 238–11. He also led Florida's women's club flag team to seven national championships and is head coach of the U.S. 17U girls' national team. Hernandez is head coach at Alonso High School in Tampa. His teams have won four state titles and national titles in 2023 and 2025, going 152–11 from 2018 to 2026. He has coached U.S. junior and women's national teams, and TMRW named him a director of player personnel for its pro flag football league in its Oct. 6 Tottenham announcement. A companion online course, Coaching Flag Football Principles, is planned for December 2026 through Human Kinetics Coach Education.

Culver-Stockton Wildcats, Heart of America Athletic Conference, NAIA

Culver-Stockton builds toward spring 2028 under Timothy Trevier
Culver-Stockton College; Aug. 6, 2026

Culver-Stockton announced women's flag football as a varsity sport that starts competing in spring 2028. Athletic director Pat Atwell pointed to the sport's NAIA championship status, Heart of America schools that already play, and growing high school participation. Wildcat Wire reported on Sept. 30 that alumnus Timothy Trevier, class of 1985, is the first head coach and is already recruiting. Trevier said he is moving past his tackle-football habits to learn flag schemes, and he wants the first roster to help set the culture while keeping academics first.

Matthew Dixon, Collegiate Flag Football
Matthew Dixon's Oct. 5 Collegiate Flag Football newsletter covers Sept. 28 through Oct. 4. It includes the 10 new NIRSA clubs, Extra Points' estimate of about 70 Division I programs by 2027, hires at Washington Adventist, and the Oregon and Jacksonville clubs, and the newest coaching openings. Dixon remains the most thorough reporter covering the sport, and his schedule is a vital resource as fall exhibitions start. Subscribe to and read his newsletter to stay ahead of every add, hire, and game date.

WEDNESDAY 10/7/26 WCFFB WIRE

TUESDAY 9/29/26 WCFFB WIRE