Football Drives Campus Growth: 774 Colleges Fielding Teams (2024)

Impact on Enrollment and Campus Life

Football's appeal goes beyond the excitement on the field. It plays a critical role in enhancing student life, boosting enrollment, and fostering community engagement. Small colleges often cite football as a strategic tool for increasing enrollment and addressing gender imbalances. Larger universities, on the other hand, emphasize the sport's role in raising the institution's profile, attracting research grants, and creating a vibrant campus atmosphere that appeals to both students and alumni. Moreover, football programs can serve as a powerful tool for alumni relations, driving engagement and donations, and enhancing the overall reputation of the institution.

For example, theUniversity of Rio Grande (OH), which plans to launch its football program in 2025, along with a marching band, anticipates an enrollment increase of 150-200 students, highlighting football's role in strengthening ties with the local community.

"Football is a cherished tradition in Ohio, and we believe the time is now to revive it here at Rio," said PresidentRyan Smith. "This initiative not only enhances the vibrancy of our campus but also strengthens our bond with the southern Ohio community."

Expanding Options to Play College Football

There are also 123 junior college football programs, 16 collegiate sprint football teams and 30 colleges and universities on tap to offer women's flag football programs as a varsity sport.

Sprint football is a full-contact sport for players weighing 178 pounds or less with the same rules as regular college football. Since 1934, intercollegiate student-athletes on the East Coast have benefited from the opportunity to play in the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL), which is addingMolloy University(NY) this season as its ninth member. The Midwest Sprint Football League (MSFL), which boasts seven teams, launched in 2022, expanding the sport to the middle of the country and bringing the total of sprint football teams to 16 nationwide.

The NAIA women's flag football league, partnering with NFL FLAG, continues with impressive growth. Building on the 2022 season with 12 NAIA schools rostering teams, the 2023-24 season nearly doubled the roster of schools to a total of 22 teams. This past spring, the Atlanta Falcons hosted the NAIA Women's Flag Football Finals at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for a fourth consecutive year.

The Atlantic East Conference, in partnership with the NFL and RCX Sports, along with support from the Philadelphia Eagles, became the first NCAA Conference to offer varsity female flag football, playing a club season in 2024 with its inaugural season slated for the Spring of 2025. Eight schools are currently scheduled to participate during the inaugural season:Cabrini University(PA),Centenary University(NJ),Eastern University(PA),Holy Family University(PA),Immaculata University(PA),Marymount University(VA),Neumann University(PA) andSiena Heights University(PA).

Flag football also received a major boost when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in October 2023 that flag football would be included on the LA28 Olympic sports program. Its inclusion, led by efforts of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and supported by the NFL, showcases an aspirational new pathway to play the game on a global level. Played by an estimated 20 million people in more than 100 countries across six continents, flag football has become the most inclusive and accessible format of football. The game is currently played by people of all ages and genders, with women and girls driving some of the sport's fastest growth.

Four Programs Launched in 2023

• Arkansas Baptist College(Little Rock, AR): NAIA, Sooner Athletic Conference (2023)
• Eastern University(St. Davids, PA): NCAA Division III, Middle Atlantic Conference (2023)
• John Melvin University(Crowley, LA): Gulf-Atlantic Christian Athletic Alliance (2023)
• Thomas University(Thomasville, GA): NAIA, Sun Conference (2023)

One Program Launched in 2022

• Hilbert College(Hamburg, New York): NCAA Division III, Independent

Seven Programs Launched in 2021

• Bluefield State College(Bluefield, West Virginia): NCAA Division II, Independent
• Judson University(Elgin, Illinois): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association
• Keystone College(La Plume, Pennsylvania): NCAA Division III, Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
• Lincoln University(Oakland, California): Independent
• Mount Marty University(Yankton, South Dakota): NAIA, Great Plains Athletic Conference
• Post University(Waterbury, Connecticut): NCAA Division II, Independent
• University of Fort Lauderdale(Lauderhill, Florida):National Christian College Athletic Association

Five Programs Launched in 2020

• Barton College(Wilson, North Carolina): NCAA Division II, South Atlantic Conference
• Erskine College(Due West, South Carolina): NCAA Division II, South Atlantic Conference
• Florida Memorial University(Miami Gardens, Florida): NAIA, Sun Conference
• Madonna University(Livonia, Michigan): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association
• Roosevelt University(Chicago, Illinois): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association

Four Programs Launched in 2019

• Clarke University(Dubuque, Iowa): NAIA, Heart of America Athletic Conference
• Franklin Pierce University(Rindge, New Hampshire): NCAA Division II, Northeast-10 Conference
• St. Thomas University(Miami Gardens, Florida): NAIA, Sun Conference
• Wheeling University(Wheeling, West Virginia): NCAA Division II, Mountain East Conference

Seven Programs Launched in 2018

• Allen University(Columbia, South Carolina): NCAA Division II, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• Alvernia University(Reading, Pennsylvania): NCAA Division III, Middle Atlantic Conference
• Indiana Wesleyan University(Marion, Indiana): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association
• Keiser University(West Palm Beach, Florida): NAIA, Sun Conference
• Lawrence Technological University(Southfield, Michigan): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association
• Ottawa University-Arizona(Surprise, Arizona): NAIA, Sooner Athletic Conference
• University of New England(Biddeford, Maine): NCAA Division III, Commonwealth Coast Football

Four Programs Launched in 2017

• Dean College(Franklin, Massachusetts): NCAA Division III, Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
• St. Andrews University(Laurinburg, North Carolina): NAIA, Mid-South Conference
• Texas Wesleyan University(Fort Worth, Texas): NAIA, Sooner Athletic Conference
• University of Alabama at Birmingham(Birmingham, Alabama): NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, American Athletic Conference

Three Programs Launched in 2016

• Davenport University(Grand Rapids, Michigan): NCAA Division II, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• University of Texas Permian Basin(Odessa,Texas): NCAA Division II, Lone Star Conference
• University of West Florida(Pensacola, Florida): NCAA Division II, Gulf South Conference

Four Programs Launched in 2015

• East Tennessee State University(Johnson City, Tennessee): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Southern Conference
• Finlandia University(Hanco*ck, Michigan): NCAA Division III, Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. (Note: Entire School Subsequently Closed in May of 2023.)
• Kennesaw State University(Kennesaw, Georgia): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, ASUN Conference (Note: Joining the NCAA Division I Bowl Championship Subdivision, Conference USA, in 2024.)
• Lyon College(Batesville, Arkansas): NAIA, Sooner Athletic Conference