The private school is the first college in Maine to add flag football, which is expected to become an NCAA championship sport soon.
CLICK HERE to read original article, written by Portland Press Herald Staff Writer Steve Craig
STANDISH — First things first: The newly formed Saint Joseph's College women's flag football team is not a club, nor an intramural offering.
When the Monks take the field in the spring of 2028, it will be as a varsity team ready to compete in one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
Full-time head coach Kayla Pierce will have had a year-and-a-half to recruit players and build the state's first collegiate varsity program.
"That I'm able to be the coach of Maine's first varsity program at the college level is a huge deal for me," Pierce said. "I think it's important to show young girls and young women that football is also a sport for them. And there's just so much excitement around it."
After Saint Joseph's announced in June it was adding women's flag football, the athletic department hired Pierce, who grew up in Acton and was a three-sport athlete at Sanford High, from which she graduated in 2020.
Also a graduate of Robert Morris University, Pierce was the head coach of the Colonials' club rugby team the past two seasons. She's also played both tackle and flag football in the Pittsburgh area and worked at several flag clinics and showcases in western Pennsylvania, including some run by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
WHY FLAG FOOTBALL?
Saint Joseph's College, with an enrollment around 700 students, had been actively researching a number of sports that it might add, said co-athletic directors Mike McDevitt and Will Sanborn as they sat with Pierce in the college's Harold Alfond Center offices.
They soon realized women's flag football was booming across the country. Earlier this year, the NCAA officially recognized it as an emerging sport. Flag football for women and men will be played at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
"It quickly became apparent we wanted to be the first college varsity team in Maine," McDevitt said.
With strong support from President Joseph Cassidy, the decision was made to move forward. A significant monetary donation from a donor who is choosing to remain anonymous gave further impetus.
Saint Joseph's expects flag football to enhance its enrollment. Pierce, who doesn't officially start her job until Monday, said she's already had several high school girls connect with her via social media channels to share their recruiting profiles.
Two weeks ago, she was at a showcase clinic held in Pennsylvania at Slippery Rock University with 70 high school campers, many from outside of Pennsylvania and some from Canada.
"They're posting highlights and there's a lot of film for flag football players," Pierce said.
GROWTH OF THE SPORT
Women's flag football has expanded rapidly across college campuses in recent years. Its expansion has been fueled by investment from the National Football League. It's estimated that nearly half a million girls ages 6-17 play flag football in the United States.
Sanborn said that during their research stage, Saint Joseph's administrators looked at Massachusetts high school participation. "Four years ago in the state of Massachusetts, there were eight schools with teams. This past spring, their were over 100 schools."
Massachusetts is one of 16 states with independent or pilot flag football programs, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Twenty state high school organizations have sanctioned flag football, with another four set to introduce the sport in 2027. Just six states, including Maine and New Hampshire, are considered by the NFHS to be "not yet considering" adding girls flag football.
The growth at the high school level is readily apparent. In 2024-25, the most recent data available, NFHS reported 68,847 girls played flag football across 20 states — a 438% participation increase since 2021-22, when 15,716 girls played in nine states.
On Aug. 7, the NCAA announced funding for a national championship and sport committee, a key step toward having sanctioned NCAA championships, likely in 2028. In 2026-27, an estimated 130 schools across all NCAA divisions will field varsity flag football teams, according to the website collegiateflagfootball.com, with another 100-plus schools having student-run club teams.
COACH WITH FOOTBALL AND MAINE TIES
Pierce played rugby at Robert Morris, where she earned her degree in sports psychology in three years. She also was becoming deeply connected to football. She played middle linebacker for the Pittsburgh Passion, a professionally organized women's tackle football team in the Women's Football Alliance. Pierce, who considers herself a tackle football player, has played in international flag football competitions.
"Being from Maine, I obviously love this state, and it's good to be home," Pierce said. "Football has been such a big part of my life the past four years. I've been playing professionally, tackle, in the WFA and I've been closely associated with flag in western Pennsylvania, whether playing myself or coaching."
Pierce said young girls have more and more opportunities to play football — and not just in the backyard with their brothers.
"This is something that they're not only going to be able to play on a club, but in the future at the college level," Pierce said.
The immediate focus for Pierce is recruiting the first roster for 2027-28. She said athletic attributes like speed, agility and height translate to flag football. She intends to focus on players with flag football experience.
"I just want to be able to teach life lessons through sport, too," said Pierce, who is one course shy of earning her master's degree in sports psychology. "I'll be looking for girls who are really passionate about the sport but who are also looking to become great people. That way, we can have a chemistry-driven team."
