Rockford University set to be a pioneer in the sport of women's flag football at NCAA level

This time, Rockford University is going to be a pioneer in a sport.

The lone four-year college in Rockford, and one that is not known for its athletics, will kickstart a women's flag football team next spring. It has already started to build its program from the ground up as the process continues over the summer.

"Everything is evolving," Rockford's first women's flag football head coach Tim Trevier said earlier this week. "But it's evolving fast."

Rockford is the first to start a women's flag football team from the state of Illinois and is one of the first in the entire NCAA to bring this new — but fast-growing — sport to the college level.

More girls flag football:Girls flag football is now an official IHSA sport: Here's how it happened and what's next

"There are not a lot of NCAA teams yet; we were the first in Illinois and the second in the country," Trevier said. "But it's catching on, and there will be a lot more coming. A lot more... This thing is real. It's going to be huge and we're getting in on the ground floor, you could say."

Rockford announced the start of its program over the winter around the time the IHSA voted to add girls flag football to its slate of sanctioned sports, starting this school year.

The Rockford area has seen enormous growth in the sport over the past five years, mostly due to the success of the Rockford Park District's girls flag football program, which works in conjunction with the Chicago Bears and the NFL.

And it's not just this region: men's and women's flag football has been added to the list of sports set to debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

More on the park district program:Chicago Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds highlights speakers at park district's football camp

Rockford University is the first college to make the move in this state, though, which should come as no surprise to those who know the school's history.

"Since our founding in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary, Rockford University has been at the forefront of advancing educational opportunities for women," Rockford University President Patricia Lynott said in a statement. "Now we can build upon that tradition with the introduction of women's flag football."

Women's flag football recently became a sanctioned NAIA sport and there are already 15 NAIA colleges — all in the Midwest or the south — that offer the sport. It's now spreading across the NCAA as well.

It was recently announced that, come this spring, the Atlantic East Conference will be the first NCAA conference at any division level to offer women's flag football in the spring of 2025.

There is no schedule on the Rockford program's inaugural website yet, but it's coming together quickly. Benedictine from Lisle has since announced it will add a team.

Guilford placed fourth for the second year in a row in the Illinois girls high school flag football league last year and there is a lot of talent in this zone to build upon.

"There are some really good players around here, for sure. We found that out right away," said Trevier, who coaches Rockford's special teams on the men's football side of things. "Now the key is to really tap into that, and get the best team in the Midwest."

The recruiting process has begun, but Trevier said it's far from over. Four local women have committed to play for the Regents' first women's flag football team starting next spring and several others from out of state. He hopes to have the roster and schedule finalized by the time school starts this fall.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.