FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Marian University in Fond du Lac becomes the first four-year university in Wisconsin to add a women’s flag football team.

The university announced during a news conference Wednesday that women’s flag football will be its 26th intercollegiate sport, beginning in spring 2026.

Marian University athletic director Tony Draves said the school noticed the sport’s growing popularity, especially ahead of its Olympic debut in 2028, and wanted to be one of the first universities to add the program.

“One of the things the university has done a great job of is using athletics and other activities to increase enrollment, and we currently don’t really have a club team on the women’s side, so we can expand our offering to women,” Draves said. “We can expand our geographic footprint because this has become, this has exploded at the high school level.”

The university is currently in the process of hiring a coach and the team will compete against other Midwestern schools, including Benedictine and Illinois Wesleyan.

Freshman soccer player Dani Chaname said she played flag football at her high school in San Francisco and was excited for the sport to come to her university.

“It’s going to be huge and I’m excited for it,” Chaname said.