The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association recently announced the addition of women's flag football to the conference.

Debuting in the spring of 2027, four current GLIAC schools plan to compete in the inaugural conference season: Davenport University, Purdue University Northwest, Saginaw Valley State University, and the University of Wisconson-Parkside. Full-time Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) member, Lewis University, will also join as the fifth member in the GLIAC for specifically flag football. The University of Illinois-Springfield also plans to join the conference as the sixth team for 2027-2028 campaign.

"The GLIAC is proud to announce the addition of women's flag football, a sport that continues to experience tremendous growth and momentum across the country," said Commissioner Kris Dunbar in a release. "This decision reflects our commitment to providing new competitive opportunities for student-athletes while supporting the evolution of collegiate athletics. We are excited to partner with our member institutions as we help shape the future of women's flag football and provide a platform for these student-athletes to excel both on the field and in the classroom."

While they've won four out of the last five football Division II National Championships, Ferris State University will not be competing in women's flag football in the near future. According to Athletic Director Steve Brockelbank, the school may consider it later down the road.

"It is always positive to see the growth of a sport and I am pleased to see our conference sponsor one of the fastest growing female sports in the U.S.," Brockelbank said. "We are always studying the sport landscape to see what might make sense to add to our varsity athletic program."

Ferris State recently added their 18th NCAA-sponsored sport last year in STUNT. The team competed in the GLVC this past year and reached as high as 15th in the Division II STUNT national polls.

Grand Valley State, who leads the conference with 22 varsity sports programs, will also not be fielding a women's flag football team in 2026-2027.

_{Logo credit to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.}