NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia Wesleyan University is forming its first women's flag football team for 2026 — this comes as other teams have popped up throughout Hampton Roads.
“We will be one of the first [colleges] in the Commonwealth to offer women’s flag football,” said Andrea Hoover-Erbig, executive director for intercollegiate athletics at Virginia Wesleyan University.
There are only a handful of colleges in Virginia with women's flag teams, including Ferrum, Hollins, Marymount, and now Virginia Wesleyan.
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The women's flag football scene got going when Jamaar Hawkins started the league three years ago for his daughter.
“She wanted to play football, but at her school, they wanted her to play with the boys. She didn’t want to; she wanted to do her own thing,” Hawkins said.
He felt that his daughter and other girls who love playing should have a league of their own. He started with 15 girls. The league now has nearly 300 girls, ages 8-18, from all over the 757.
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Now, these girls will have the opportunity to take their skills to the next level.
“I play wide receiver and defensive end,” said Camille Vaughn, who plays flag football for the I-64 Sports All-Girl Flag Football League. “I grew up around football. My brothers always played, and I would always be out there, and we would play in the backyard and stuff.”
Indian River High sophomore Noelle Melendez is the quarterback of her team.
“I feel like quarterback is definitely the hardest position because you're the leader of the offense. If anything messes up, it falls back on you, but it's fun to lead a team and have people follow you,” said Melendez proudly.
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Hoover-Erbig credits the NFL for much of the sport’s newfound popularity.
“They have put together the NFL Flag Football League. There are 700,000 kids and young adults playing flag football all over the country, and almost 500,000 of them are women,” she said.
As for Camille, the Maury High senior has just found out she received a scholarship to play at Ferrum College next year.
“Hopefully, I’ll make it further than that,” she said, aiming to go pro one day.
If you have a daughter who wants to play in the I-64 All Girls League, you can find them on Instagram and Facebook.
