Beginning next fall, a new CIAA champion will be crowned in a new sport.
Friday afternoon, the conference announced they received NCAA approval to add women’s flag football as a varsity sport, beginning with the 2026-27 academic/athletic year.
The CIAA becomes the first HBCU conference to fully sanction women’s flag football as a varsity sport.
The CIAA began playing women’s flag football as a club sport last spring, with Winston-Salem State taking the inaugural championship.
The club championship will take place for the final time this coming April before the move to varsity. The championship rounds will be played in Charlotte, North Carolina.
