MONTGOMERY — With women’s flag football about to kick off its inaugural season, the Alabama Community College women’s sports programs have scored financially, courtesy of the Alabama Legislature.
A $300,000 women’s sports appropriation was championed for inclusion in the Education Trust Fund budget package by State Rep. Chris Blackshear. The funding will help support the development and expansion of women’s sports in the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC).
“The Alabama Community College Conference is grateful to Rep. Blackshear and the state Legislature for their generosity to not only flag football, but to female athletics,” said ACCC Commissioner Dean Myrick. “We look forward to our continued growth in this fascinating sport as well as female athletics in general. Providing additional opportunities in this great conference is something we hold in high esteem.”
Alabama will be one of eight states to offer women’s flag football as a varsity sport once the inaugural season begins. Seven schools: Bishop State, Calhoun, Lurleen B. Wallace, Northwest Shoals, Shelton State, Snead State and Wallace State Community College in Hanceville will compete this year, additional ACCS colleges have plans to launch women’s flag football teams in 2026.
“Women’s flag football is the fastest growing sport in the United States and arguably ever,” said Izell Reese, a Dothan native and executive director of NFL Flag. “It is skyrocketing. At one time, females didn’t have a path to continue to play flag football beyond high school.
“It’s phenomenal to now hear of the opportunities that are going to come at the community college level.”
Including flag football, the ACCC fields women’s teams in basketball, softball, soccer, cross country, golf, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.
A large portion of the one-time supplemental funds in Act 2025-268 will support the implementation and growth of women’s flag football as an ACCC-sanctioned sport, in addition to other conference ventures and initiatives related to women’s sports.
“While Alabama’s community colleges provide one of the state’s most effective workforce development pipelines, they are also proudly home to some of our top athletic programs,” Blackshear (R–Phenix City) said. “Now featured in the Olympics and the NFL Pro Bowl, the global emergence of flag football is undeniable. After seeing its impact on women’s athletics in my hometown of Phenix City, I felt that working to feature this exciting sport in the ACCC was a no-brainer.
“I look forward to seeing it continue to grow in our state.”
ACCC women’s teams have experienced success outside of Alabama, winning National Junior College Athletic Association national championships in golf and softball, tennis and track and field. Shelton State’s women’s basketball team has advanced to the NJCAA Division I Final Four on five occasions, reaching the championship game for the first time ever this past season.
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