Women's flag football could be coming to a stadium near you

The NAIA is getting a new sport, and it could be very exciting.

On Monday, the NAIA announced it is making women's flag football an official varsity sport for the 2021 school year, with the first-ever NAIA women's flag football national championship set for 2022.

The NAIA is entering a two-year partnership the National Football League (NFL) and Reigning Champs Experiences (RCX).

With support from NFL FLAG and RCX, NAIA will work to develop league infrastructure and operations for the first women's flag football competition governed by a collegiate athletics association.

"Football is for everyone," NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said in the NAIA press release. "This groundbreaking and historic joint venture provides an opportunity for the values, fun and competitive environment of football to be enjoyed as a varsity sport by female student-athletes attending NAIA institutions across America."

"The NAIA is thrilled to partner with the NFL and RCX in launching women's flag football," Jim Carr, NAIA president and CEO, said. "This is a fantastic opportunity for our members to expand their athletics programming with support from valuable partners like RCX and one of the most relevant and successful professional sports leagues in the world."

The NAIA will begin working with NFL FLAG and RCX immediately to outline competition guidelines and next steps for schools and conferences interested in instituting women's flag. The first competitive season will be held in the spring of 2021.

The NAIA will host an emerging sport or invitational championship in the spring of 2022. An emerging sport in the NAIA is defined as at least 15 participating institutions, while invitational can be defined as at least 25. A sport must have a minimum of 40 participating institutions to be considered for full championship status.

In addition to the women's flag football initiative, the NFL will serve the presenting sponsor of the 2020 NAIA Football National Championship, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 19 at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium at Grambling University in Grambling, Louisana.

No announcement on whether Montana State University-Northern, or any other Frontier Conference school will ultimately offer women's flag football as a varsity sport. But, it would come as no surprise if schools do, as a continue effort to comply with Title IX, as well as the fact that, flag football is genuinely considered one of the most cost-effective sports played in the United States.