With the endorsement of and financial support from the NFL and RCX Sports, Immaculata University is formally kicking off its women’s varsity flag football inaugural season by hosting a four-team tournament on Saturday, Apr. 13.

The women’s flag football tournament — the first for the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) — will feature conference members Centenary, Marymount and Neumann universities along with Immaculata. The AEC, of which Immaculata is a founding member, is the only NCAA conference (at any collegiate level) to offer women’s varsity flag football.

The first round of the tournament begins at 2:30 PM at Draper Walsh Stadium with Immaculata competing against Neumann. At 4:00 PM, game two features Marymount vs. Centenary. The losing teams from the first two games meet for the consolation game at 6:00 PM, followed by the championship game between the top two teams.

Flag football, with 20 million participants in 100 countries, stands as one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. In the U.S., women are driving this increased popularity. According to Sports Business Journal, there is a 63 percent increase in 6-to-17-year-old females playing the sport since 2019.

The AEC flag football program is similar to the NFL game, but some key differences include a shorter field, seven-on-seven play, no offensive or defensive line players and players in possession of the ball are downed when an opponent removes a breakaway flag from their waist belt. 

Joe Trainer is leading the Immaculata team as head women’s flag football coach, bringing with him a wealth of experience. Trainer’s coaching journey began as an Assistant Football Foach at Temple University, followed by 15 years as an Assistant Coach at various universities on the East Coast. His tenure includes stints as Head Football Coach at Millersville University and the University of Rhode Island, where he achieved Conference Coach of the Year in his second season, before returning to Pennsylvania as an Assistant Coach at Villanova University. He is currently serving as a Guidance Counselor at Lasalle College High School.

Acknowledging Immaculata’s three women’s basketball national championship teams of the 1970s, Coach Trainer said, “I personally believe it was women’s basketball that put women’s athletics on the map, and what better place to be a pioneer in a new sport than Immaculata.”

Reflecting on being selected to play on Immaculata’s inaugural flag football team, Natalie Dodd ‘27, an early education and special education major, said, “Not everyone has the opportunity to play this sport, let alone at this level, so I feel blessed with this opportunity.”

While the Apr. 13 tournament introduces AEC women’s flag football, a full spring competition season will begin in 2025.

For more information on the AEC’s tournament or Immaculata’s women’s varsity flag football program, contact Andrew Alveraz, Sports Information Director.

Learn more about Immaculata University, a comprehensive, co-ed institution of higher learning that has emphasized academic success, student outcomes, and faith-based values for more than 100 years. Immaculata University offers over 75 in-demand undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs.