New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation are donating a $1 million grant to the Eastern College Athletic Conference to help launch the largest women’s college flag-football league in the United States.

The league, which will hold its inaugural season in 2026, will include 15 schools competing in 7-on-7 flag football.

“Empowering young women through football has always been central to our mission,” Woody Johnson said in a statement released by the Jets on Tuesday. “Partnering with the ECAC to launch this league creates a clear pathway for student-athletes to compete, grow, and lead — on the field and beyond.”

Johnson also sees a greater future for the sport. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will feature flag football for the first time, with competitions for both men and women.

“The Jets ECAC Women’s Flag Football League builds on the success of our high school girls’ flag program, which opened doors for thousands of athletes across the region,” Johnson said. “Now we’re taking the next step: collegiate play, Olympic dreams, and a future professional league.”

✈️ 2011: launch the first ever girl’s flag football at the varsity level
✈️ 2021: launch the first high school girl’s flag league in NY and NJ
✈️ 2024: launch the first girl’s flag league in the UK and in Ireland
✈️ 2025: launch the largest collegiate women’s flag football league pic.twitter.com/OzuKWJKkAH

— New York Jets (@nyjets) December 2, 2025

In 2020, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) sanctioned flag football as a varsity sport, with the first season coming in spring 2021. In spring 2023, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) added it. At the NCAA Division I level, the sport is still in the process of becoming fully recognized.

Enter the ECAC, with its new women’s flag football league. The conference has long worked alongside the NCAA to expand opportunities for student-athletes. More than 200 schools across NCAA Divisions I, II and III belong to the 88-year-old organization, with a concentration of member schools in the Northeast.

Fifteen universities will play in the new league, whose regular season will run from February through April. The championship game will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., during the first weekend in May.

“The launch of the Jets ECAC Women’s Flag Football League represents a significant milestone for women’s sports,” said Troy Vincent Sr., NFL executive vice president of football operations, in a statement. “By establishing the largest collegiate women’s flag-football league, we are collectively building a future where young women can dream bigger and continue playing the sport they love in a competitive setting.”

The schools committed to participating, with some joining the league for its inaugural season and others waiting until 2027 to begin competition, are: Allegheny College, Caldwell University, Dominican University, Eastern University, Fairleigh Dickinson, Franciscan University, Kean University, Long Island University, Mercy University, Mercyhurst University, Montclair State University, Mount St. Mary’s University, Union College, Penn State Schuylkill and Sweet Briar College.

At the high-school level, 28 states have either sanctioned girls’ flag football, are in the process of sanctioning it or are running pilot programs for the sport. In February, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics recommended adding girls’ flag football as an official “emerging sport for women” for all three NCAA divisions.

Now, those high school athletes can expect to have a clearer pathway to playing flag football at the college level.

“Launching the largest collegiate women’s flag-football league is a game-changing moment that will create opportunities that inspire and elevate the game,” Jets linebacker Quincy Williams said in a statement. “… Now women will have the chance to experience what college football gave so many of us — competition, community, and growth.”

Sierra Wishnefsky, an athlete at Penn State Schuylkill, echoed Williams’ sentiment.

“I couldn’t imagine being a little girl and seeing (collegiate women) playing in a league sponsored by the New York Jets, an NFL team,’” Wishnefsky added. “Just having the name there — this conference is going to open so many doors.”