Team Insight

Dustin Wilke, Commissioner, NAIA To get first-hand insight into just how women's flag football fits into the growth plans at NAIA schools, Team Insight sat down with Dustin Wilke, the commissioner of the NAIA's Sun Conference. Of the nine members of the Sun Conference, seven of the universities are in Florida and two are in Georgia. How many Sun Conference schools have flag football programs? We currently have six programs and we are adding three affiliate members next year — Reinhardt, Point and Life. e six current members are Florida Memorial University, St. omas University, Keiser University, Warner University, Webber International University and omas University. Are other Sun Conference schools strongly considering adding a women's flag football program? Yes, there are several that are considering adding though I would not want to speak for these schools in suggesting a specific timeline. What role did the NFL play in helping your Sun Conference schools start flag football? e NFL played a large role, primarily based on the sponsorship stipends they provided to each school as they started their program. Are football coaches lending any assistance to their flag football coaching peers? Yes, we have several programs that utilize members of the men's football staff to lead the flag football program, as well. Have you been contacted by other conference commissioners about the logistics of adding flag football to their athletic programs? Currently we are one of only two NAIA con- ferences that sponsor flag football. e other conference is the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. So I do frequently have con- versations with other NAIA commissioners about potentially starting flag football in their own conference. Interest is high around the country and we certainly feel like it's a sport that is on the verge of significant growth.n Karissa Niehoff, CEO, NFHS Team Insight also reached out to Dr. Karissa Niehoff, the CEO of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), for her input into girls' flag football at NFHS institutions. What is the NFHS doing to encourage states to adopt girls' flag football? e partnership with the NFL and RCX is to engage all 32 NFL clubs with the respective state (high school athletic) associations. e NFL is offering a grant program to start girls' flag football. e grant monies are distributed to schools via the state association. We are also including an emphasis on flag football, in general, as part of our "is Is High School Football" campaign. We will continue to develop educational resources specific to flag football. P.S. from the NFHS: According to 2022-23 Handbook from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the top five states with the most female high school flag football players are Florida (7809 partic- ipants), Georgia (3866), Nevada (1508), New York (1020) and Alabama (665). Other states with girls playing high school flag football include California and Alaska. n Jeremy Hernandez, FHSAA And finally, Team Insight reached out to Jeremy Hernandez, director of officials for the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), based in Gainesville, FL. Hernandez oversees high school flag football in the state, which is the leader in girls' high school football across the U.S., making him one of the more knowledgeable people to talk flag. How many FHSAA schools have flag football programs? We currently have 361 FHSAA member schools that have a flag football program. Right now, 279 of these schools have com- mitted to the State Series to compete for a (Florida) state championship. e rest of those committed schools are classified as an Independent. When did the FHSAA start flag football and when did you expand flag football to Class 1A and Class 2A? Girls' flag football started in the spring of 2002 and in the spring of 2016 flag football was expanded into two classifications — Class 1A and Class 2A. Are there more schools considering adding a girls' flag football program? I am sure we have schools considering the idea of adding a girls' flag football program. However, since we are currently in the middle of a season, I have not heard of any new schools which are interested in adding for the 2023-24 school year, as of yet. What role has the NFL played in helping FHSAA schools start flag football? To my knowledge, the NFL hasn't played much of a role here in Florida because the sport has been played for so long here. I do know that the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins are very active, though, within their local communities as they continue promoting those schools that are already playing flag football. n TALKING FLAG WITH... TEAM FOOTBALL 24 • Team Insight ~ May/June 2023 teaminsightmag.com

• Cover