Fiesta Bowl to host women's flag football tourney

The Fiesta Bowl will host an eight-team women's collegiate flag football tournament in April, the Fiesta Sports Foundation announced Thursday, marking a first-of-its-kind event for the sport, which has seen rapid growth and is now offered by more than 40 NCAA schools at the varsity level.

The tournament, sponsored by Oakley and dubbed the Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic, will run April 18-19 and feature teams from Alabama State, Arizona State, Charlotte, Florida, Georgia, Grand Canyon, UCF and USC.

"From youth and high school programs to now the collegiate level, we are committed to helping flag football grow in a meaningful and sustainable way," Fiesta Sports Foundation executive director Erik Moses said in a statement. "This tournament is about building a tradition, creating opportunity and providing these athletes an elite experience."

The tournament will be a two-day, 7-on-7 showcase, hosted on Arizona State's campus, with three-game pool play April 18 and a title game playoff bracket and awards presentation April 19.

The Fiesta Sports Foundation estimates that more than 2.5 million athletes are participating in women's flag football, with sizable growth in the high school ranks and more than 150 NCAA schools offering the sport at the club or varsity level.

Flag football also will be a medal sport at the 2028 Olympics for the first time.

The Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic will mark a first for the sport at the Division I level nationally.

"The Fiesta Bowl continues to give women's flag football the spotlight it deserves," Grand Canyon coach Brian Tice said. "Being a part of the Fiesta Bowl shows how quickly women's flag football is growing, and we are proud to be on that stage."