Sports Editor- Liv White
Gustavus Women’s Flag Football is nearing the end of their second-ever season and won their first games this past weekend. Last Spring, Gustavus’s Athletic Department announced they were partnering with five other NCAA institutions and the Minnesota Vikings to launch a collegiate women’s flag football league.
The inaugural season was joined by Augustana, Concordia-Moorhead, Bethel, Northwestern-St. Paul, and UW-Stout. This season, the College of St. Benedict joined the Midwest College Women’s Flag Football League (MCWFFL). The Vikings and NFL are financially and operationally backing the league in an effort to continue their support for women’s flag football.
Beginning in 2022, the Vikings have supported the growth of girls’ and women’s flag football. The organization has allocated more than $600,000 towards state and regional efforts to expand flag football for women at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels.
Minneapolis Public Schools partnered with the Vikings in 2022 to pilot a middle school girls’ flag football program, which expanded to include 8 school districts by 2024. The same year, the Vikings began laying the groundwork for the launch of a high school league, which began in 2025, collaborating with 51 participating schools across the metro area. This year the number has over doubled, with 104 schools participating in the second season. This growth makes girls’ flag football the fastest-growing school sport in the state of Minnesota.
Gustavus First-Year Esther Aminga was a part of the inaugural high school season last spring. “Being part of the high school inaugural season felt amazing, especially the community that came out from it, also just seeing how inspiring it was to other students who were not playing that season. In a way it felt like a successful experiment, because throughout the season there was a lot of interest growing from his stunted body like from our first game we barely had a crowd/ fans to our last games being packed with fans, parents and other students. And being part of that definitely felt like I was part of something great,” Aminga said.
The fact that Gustavus had a flag team was a factor for Aminga when deciding to come to Gustavus. “Yes, it played a big role in my decision. Gustavus was starting its first year of flag football at the same time I was playing my first year in high school, so I had been following the program from the beginning. I knew I wanted to continue playing after high school, and seeing Gustavus invest in building a team made it stand out from my other options,” Aminga commented.
The Vikings have high hopes for the sport and league. They are aiming to expand the girls and women’s flag initiative to schools across Minnesota and the surrounding states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. The organization is seeking to remove financial barriers to the program so that more schools can be involved. There have been talks about making flag a varsity sport through conversations with the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). “I don’t just hope for this, I want to see flag football for women be transformed from an inaugural/ intramural sport into a recognized varsity/ division sport. It deserves the same type of energy tackle football does. At Gustavus, I want to see the program continue to grow, expand, and create more opportunities for women to play,” Aminga said.
Aminga, in her first season at Gustavus, plays strongside linebacker on defense. On reflecting on their season, she said, “I feel like this season has been going great for us. We’ve won some games and lost a few, but most importantly, we’ve been improving and really taking the opportunities we have to make ourselves better. The rough part has been holding practices because since we’re inaugural we don’t really get a say in much of where we can practice or what times we can claim the field, which has forced us to alter a lot of our practices like practicing in the blue which is not super beneficial for us especially when we’re in season but nevertheless we still show up and work hard and translate that into the field the best we can. Beyond the games, we’ve created a really good community of women, which feels like family. We’re all there supporting each other, having fun through it all, and most importantly, sharing our love for the game. Overall, I know I made the right decision coming to Gustavus and being part of the women’s flag football program”.
The MCWFFL championship is this weekend, April 25, at the TCO stadium in Eagan. Good luck to the women’s flag football team!