University of Mount Olive to Participate in Conference Carolinas Women’s Flag Football Kickoff Celebration

MOUNT OLIVE – As part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the University of Mount Olive will participate in the Conference Carolinas Women's Flag Football Kickoff Celebration on Wednesday, February 4, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

The event, hosted by Conference Carolinas in partnership with the Carolina Panthers, celebrates the expansion of women's flag football across the Carolinas at the collegiate level. A press conference will take place at 1:30 p.m. in the Panthers Team Auditorium and will feature representatives from Conference Carolinas, the Carolina Panthers, and the Durham Sports Commission. Following the press conference, coaches and student-athletes in attendance will be available for open media availability.

Conference Carolinas is the first NCAA Division I or II conference to sponsor varsity women's flag football and will launch its inaugural season with 11 member institutions, including the University of Mount Olive. Conference play is set to begin on February 28 at Emmanuel (Ga.) University, with the inaugural Conference Carolinas Women's Flag Football Championship scheduled for April 17–19 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Women's flag football is the newest sport included in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program and continues to see rapid growth nationwide. More than 40 NCAA institutions across all three divisions are expected to sponsor the sport at the varsity level by the spring of 2026. Mount Olive will compete alongside Barton, Chowan, Emmanuel, Erskine, Ferrum, King, Lees-McRae, Mars Hill, Mount St. Mary's, and Wingate in Conference Carolinas competition.

The Carolina Panthers have played a significant role in expanding women's flag football across the Carolinas, with the goal of the sport becoming sanctioned at the high school varsity level in both North and South Carolina. Currently, 145 high schools in North Carolina and 35 in South Carolina sponsor flag football programs. The sport is sanctioned as a varsity sport in 17 states nationwide and is set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.

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