High School Sports |

Howard Community College introduces girls flag football as a varsity sport

Women’s flag football is increasing in popularity throughout the United States. Its growth is spreading to Howard County.

On June 13, Howard Community College announced the launch of a women’s intercollegiate flag football program with the inaugural season set for Spring 2025. It will be seven-on-seven flag football following the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics rules and will be the Dragons’ seventh women’s varsity sport.

HCC becomes the first college in Maryland to offer women’s flag football as a competitive sport. Its addition was aided by a $10,000 grant from the National Junior College Athletic Association.

“HCC has always tried to lead with an eye towards opportunity and equity for all students,” HCC President Dr. Daria J. Willis said in a release. “This program will be a major element of promoting women’s participation in sports at all ages and expanding our college’s championship footprint across men’s and women’s on-field, on-court and esports programs.”

Fredrick County piloted a high school varsity girls flag football program in the fall offered at 10 high schools. On April 22, the Baltimore Ravens and Under Armour announced an expanded partnership with Baltimore City, Montgomery County and Washington County public schools to provide grant funding and uniforms for girls high school flag football programs in the fall of 2024.

The partnership totals 51 high schools (25 in Montgomery County, 10 in Baltimore City, the 10 existing high schools in Frederick County and six in Washington County) and is one of many factors that influenced HCC athletic director Mike Smelkinson.

His effort in bringing the sport to HCC began roughly two years ago when the NJCAA identified girls flag football as an emerging sport along with coed competitive cheer. HCC didn’t offer either sport at the time and Smelkinson was driven to change that.

HCC started several intramural sports. However, last fall, one sport was a bigger hit than all the rest: coed flag football. For four to six weeks each Wednesday, HCC hosted six-on-six scrimmages, garnering great interest from women, especially.

At Homecoming, the Dragons held a student vs. faculty flag football game. The game featured cheerleaders drew an excited crowd, giving Smelkinson a great vision of what it could become as an intercollegiate sport.

After consulting with several administrators including Dr. Willis, Smelkinson submitted a grant application to the NJCAA in January. The grant was offered in June and the sport’s arrival to campus coincides with the new $101.7 million Mathematics and Athletics Complex, which began construction in 2021 and is slated to be completed this fall.

“It’s just something new and fresh,” Smelkinson said. “Who doesn’t like to go outside and throw the football around? Everyone likes to play a little flag football. That was proven in our intramural league. I think it’s a great opportunity for young women to play a competitive sport safely. We like to think of ourselves here as innovators as proven by this facility being a math and athletics complex. It’s our hope that the community gets behind this as we try to take the next step.”

VerKia Smith was named the inaugural coach of the team. She has served as a cross country and assistant women’s basketball coach for HCC. Smith has been around flag football her entire life. Her mom played flag football and VerKia currently plays in a women’s flag football league in southern Maryland.

“I am truly excited,” Smith said. “I enjoy coaching as I’ve coached cross country and basketball. This is really one of my passions. Now, being able to integrate my knowledge of flag football, coming from the years that I played, coming from the people who played before me and all those who will play after me, I am through the roof excited. We are greatly excited to offer this opportunity not just to girls in Maryland but all over, so we can bring them in and show them what kinds of opportunities we can provide.”

Since the announcement, HCC has released two recruiting combine dates, one on Saturday and another on Aug. 3. The combines are for both recently graduated and rising high school seniors, additional recruiting efforts are planned for the fall. The structure will be similar to the NFL combine with a series of athletic testing, including the 40-yard dash and vertical, plus flag-pulling drills and scrimmages.

There are currently eight women’s flag football teams in the NJCAA across the 24 regions throughout the United States. HCC is the first team to offer women’s flag football in Region 20 which comprises Maryland, Western Pennsylvania and the West Virginia Panhandle. Three more programs, including Harford Community College will field teams during the 2025-26 school year.

With teams spread throughout the country, Smelkinson envisions arranging a couple of play dates in the first season. However, he anticipates an expanded game schedule in the future, hopeful that the sport will continue growing at the community college level.

At the NJCAA convention in the spring, Smelkinson said the flag football breakout room was “Jam-packed with athletic directors all over the country wanting to learn more and seeing who else would add it.”

“I want it to be a competitive sport that student-athletes take serious with cheerleaders, fans, parents and community members at the game,” Smelkinson said. “Also, incorporate the sport into some of the other mainstream sports that we have — basketball, lacrosse, soccer. That’s my vision. I think it’s a good fit here. I think we have a good attraction right here in Columbia with our location, our new building and some of the other academic buildings on campus.”

Smith’s ideal vision for the roster includes 14 to 15 players. As the Dragons embark on their first season, Smith will preach collective growth.

“I think that moment will be full circle,” Smith said of the first game. “I truly enjoy coaching. One thing that I pride my student-athletes on is that we’re having fun and we’re learning. Whatever the outcome of the season is, as long as the girls and the community we’ve grown and gained knowledge, that’s what I’m looking forward to. We want to make sure with flag football being an intense sport that these girls are hungry for wanting to be great.”