Mya De Jesus came to flag football through a bit of backdoor. Now, the senior at Harrison (New Jersey) High might be looking at a scholarship in the sport.
"The flag football coach, he had seen me play basketball and he was like, 'I need you to try out,' " said De Jesus, who also plays point guard on the basketball team. "I've never heard of flag, had no idea what it was ... I'm like, 'OK, whatever, we're just gonna do it.' And I just fell in love with it. It's just such a fun game. I feel like anyone that plays it will just love it."
De Jesus plays running back and linebacker for her high school team, where she ran for 510 yards and seven touchdowns on offense and had 49 tackles on defense as a junior last spring. De Jesus was already getting recruited to play in college, but thanks to the New York Jets, flag football will have its first official conference in the spring of 2026.
More: USA TODAY Sports Super 25 girls flag football rankings, Week 13
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) will launch a women’s flag football league with a $1 million investment from the Jets. The league will begin play in the spring of 2026, starting in February. The season will kick off with a media day at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 27, 2026.Fifteen universities in the Northeast will compete in 7-on-7 flag football from February through April. The top six to eight teams will advance to a playoff tournament at MetLife Stadium in May. It's the next logical step for flag football which, as of late 2025, is sanctioned in 17 states as a varsity high school sport, with many more states in various stages of pilot programs. The numbers continue to grow as the flag football gains popularity and recognition.
