ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Winthrop University Club Sports will embrace one of the fastest-growing sports in the country by establishing a women's flag football team in the fall.
This emerging collegiate sport is appropriate for Rock Hill, which identifies itself as Football City USA due to the number of players who have entered the NFL. A women’s club program honors the region’s football heritage by offering opportunities to a new generation of female student-athletes, said Athletic Director Chuck Rey.
He said several converging factors will make this new program possible. The university’s strategic plan – Winthrop: United in Excellence – calls for a comprehensive club sports strategy to expand its athletic offerings as well as the hiring of a new club sports director.
“At the same time the Big South Conference has made history as the first conference to sponsor women’s flag football as an NCAA sport and club sport,” Rey said. “This clears a pathway and creates a competitive structure for student-athletes.”
The Big South has partnered with the NFL on this initiative, and there will be financial support for each school that adds the sport.
Rey said the addition of women's flag football demonstrates Winthrop's commitment to providing innovative opportunities for students in terms of participation, leadership development and competitive excellence.
New Coach and Team Support
The inaugural flag football team will be led by Head Coach Reggie Cespedes, an accomplished coach and player with more than 25 years of experience. He built a powerhouse girls flag football program at Palisades High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, which has captured three consecutive Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools League Championships and spring state titles. He also currently serves as the offensive coordinator for the Jamaican Women's National Flag Football Team.
“I'm honored and humbled to have been chosen as the inaugural head coach,” Cespedes said.
One of Winthrop’s faculty members, Joni Boyd ’07, ’20, ’21, professor of exercise science, will serve as a key consultant to the club. She is a former women’s professional football quarterback and current girls flag football coach at Northwestern High School. She has helped shape the program from the start and assisted in identifying an experienced head coach.
As flag football continues to gain national recognition, including its upcoming debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Winthrop seeks to provide students with the opportunity to create unforgettable experiences on and off the field.
Mikaela Sites, Winthrop’s director of Club Sports, said the university is eager to build a championship-caliber culture from the very beginning. Tryouts for the inaugural team will be held this fall with competition beginning in spring 2027.
Students interested in joining the inaugural team, as well as those interested in supporting or learning more about the program, are encouraged to contact Sites at sitesm@winthrop.edu.
