New York Jets and ECAC Launch Historic Women’s Flag Football League, Penn State Schuylkill Among Charter Members
The New York Jets and the Eastern College Athletic Conference have joined forces to create the largest collegiate women’s flag football league in the United States.
The New York Jets and the Eastern College Athletic Conference have joined forces to create the largest collegiate Women's Flag Football league in the United States and the inaugural season will include our Penn State Schuylkill Nittany Lions. This moment represents a major step forward for our campus and athletics program.
The new league is supported by a $1 million commitment from the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation. This investment will help cover essential needs such as equipment, uniforms, coaching support, travel, and administrative costs.
League play is set to begin in February 2026. Ten schools across five states have already committed to the first season, with five more institutions scheduled to join in 2027.
For Penn State Schuylkill, which introduced Women's Flag Football to its athletics program in October 2024, the opportunity to compete in a league supported by an NFL franchise is incredibly meaningful. As Sierra Wishnefsky (Ringtown, PA / North Schuylkill) shared, "having an organization like the Jets taking us under their wing is heartwarming, exciting, and inspirational."
With Women's Flag Football continuing to grow at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels and with the sport set to debut in the 2028 Olympic Games, this new league may serve as a pathway connecting campus athletes to national and international opportunities in the years ahead.
Head Coach Bryan Valentine shared his thoughts on what this moment means for the program. "The launch of the New York Jets and ECAC league is an exciting step forward for Women's Flag Football and we are thrilled to be part of its very first season. It brings national visibility and new competitive opportunities for our athletes and it pairs perfectly with the strong and growing experience we have in the Atlantic East Conference. Between these two leagues, our players will face high-level competition, develop at a faster pace, and showcase what Penn State Schuylkill is building. We cannot wait to start playing in the spring!"
For our athletes, coaches, and supporters, this is more than the start of a season. It is the beginning of something much larger. The 2026 season will mark the start of a new era for Women's Flag Football and a new chapter in Penn State Schuylkill athletics.
For more information, please visit the following website:
https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/jets-pioneer-groundbreaking-movement-support-of-ecac-womens-flag-football-league-12-02-2025
https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/jets-ecac-flag-football-league-announcement-12-02-2025
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47171986/jets-grant-1m-ecac-help-create-women-flag-football-league
https://apnews.com/article/jets-ecac-flag-football-cbea587bc29178ce9f3b139c41ae8e08
https://www.nfl.com/news/new-york-jets-ecac-launch-largest-collegiate-women-s-flag-football-league-in-united-states