Opinion: NEC Should Sponsor Women’s Flag Football
It’s time to be proactive.
NEC Football is obviously a passion here. I believe strongly in regional conferences that compete for conference championships. There’s a prize for the championship, sure: a spot in the FCS playoff and the chance to knock off one of the big boys in college football.
It’s amazing. But it’s never enough for football junkies.
Matt Brown of Extra Points wrote today that:
Flag football is the fastest growing emerging sport.
Startup costs are low: you need a field, cones, flags, and some footballs.
The highest concentration of athletes can be found in a handful of states… but one of them is the NEC’s home turf of New York.
It’s not my job to tell the NEC its business. The league knows what is best for it, but as someone who breathes NEC football, I’d sure like to see more of it.
Count Long Island and Mercyhurst among the schools currently competing in the ECAC. I’ve long had a good relationship with that conference personally through my work with the Lambert Trophy.
But wouldn’t it be great to see that NEC logo patch on some more football jerseys?
I suspect that with rising costs in higher education and developing pressure on costs in sports that low cost, scholarship opportunities might be attractive. This might be one way to maintain opportunities without breaking the bank all over Division I.
There just seems to be little downside to look into this emerging sport with more athletes joining up every day. I don’t know the financials; it’s not really my niche. But I’d love to see more NEC schools joining the party. And if they do, it’s time to seriously consider sponsoring it; the early bird gets the athletes.
