By Lydia Szyjka
Are you ready for some football—flag football? This dynamic, non-contact sport mirrors the excitement of the NFL game with a few distinctive twists such as a shorter field, seven-on-seven play and no offensive or defensive line players. Additionally, players with the ball are downed when an opponent removes a breakaway flag from their waist belt.
With 20 million participants in 100 countries, it’s the fastest-growing sport in the world. In the U.S., women are driving this increased popularity. According to Sports Business Journal, the number of 6-to-17-year-old females playing the sport has increased 63% since 2019.
With this impetus, the Atlantic East Conference (AEC), of which Immaculata is a founding member along with Centenary, Marymount and Neumann universities, is the first NCAA conference, at any level, to offer varsity female flag football. While varsity-level play officially begins in spring 2025, Immaculata hosted the first tournament that consisted of the four teams in the AEC this past April. The tournament was a huge success, with Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders, members of the Eagles drumline and Swoop (the Eagles mascot) adding to the pre-game festivities.
The historic moment was not lost on Jessica Huntley, the commissioner of the Atlantic East Conference. She noted, “The skyrocketing participation of girls in flag football, with nearly half a million playing now, is a fantastic example of growth in women’s sports. It’s accessible, engaging and creates a strong foundation for the future of female athletes.”
The Mighty Macs’ freshman quarterback Natalie Dodd became a sports pioneer by scoring the first touchdown in women’s NCAA collegiate flag football history. In the process, the Macs collectively made history by defeating divisional foe Neumann University in the tournament’s first game 13-7 to advance to the championship game against Marymount, who ultimately took home the championship title.
In preparation for the tournament and upcoming full season, Immaculata Athletic Director Paul Murphy hired Joe Trainer, an experienced collegiate football coach, to lead the Mighty Macs.
Trainer started his professional coaching career as an assistant football coach at Temple University. He spent the next 15 years serving as an assistant at various universities along the East Coast. In 2005, he landed his first head coaching position at Millersville University. During his illustrious career, he was the head football coach for the University of Rhode Island, where he received Conference Coach of the Year in his second season, before returning to Pennsylvania to serve as an assistant coach at Villanova University. He is currently the guidance counselor for LaSalle College High School. Coach Trainer attributes his broad educational background, which includes master’s degrees in education, counseling and theology, to his ability to connect with and support his student-athletes.
As Trainer takes on his first position coaching females, he embraces the legacy that Immaculata’s women’s basketball team created by winning the first three national championships in women’s collegiate basketball in the early 1970s. “I personally believe it was women’s basketball that put women’s athletics on the map, and what better place to be a pioneer in a new sport than Immaculata?”
With the endorsement of and financial support from the NFL and RCX Sports, Immaculata is preparing for a full slate of games next spring, which makes recruitment a top priority for Trainer. He is fully aware that football, at the collegiate and professional levels, never had a female counterpart until now.
As one of the first students to try out for the team, Dodd enjoyed watching football growing up in Philadelphia and began playing flag football during her junior year at Archbishop Ryan High School. “When I saw I had the chance to play, I took the opportunity,” she stated. The variety of positions, each with its own skill set, initially attracted her to the game. “The feeling of being a part of the only NCAA conference that is offering women’s flag football is amazing,” she added.
Her teammates agree. After defeating Neumann in the first round, Samantha Rivera ’26 told KYW NewsRadio that she was ready to continue playing on Immaculata’s flag football team next spring. “There are not many firsts we can do, especially at the college level. So, it’s nice to be the first to play on the team.”
