BROCKPORT, N.Y. — Two local college flag football teams wrapped up their historic first seasons with a bowl game.
The inaugural Mark’s Pizzeria Cup brought together SUNY Brockport and Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday.
This is the first year flag football has been recognized as a varsity sport by the NCAA. Mark’s Pizzeria decided to sponsor a bowl game to support the emerging sport.
“Flag football is a new sport for the girls and it’s an Olympic sport and we thought this could be something fun to do at the end of the season for them, just try to support the community,” Jason Steenwerth, business accounts manager at Mark’s Pizzeria, said.
Roberts Wesleyan head coach Paul Fricano is in his first year leading the Red Hawks. He said his team set out to prove they were more than just a startup program.
“This is a special group of girls. We set out a long time ago in August and said this team is not just a startup. We’re much more than that. We’re going to show this sporting world of flag football that we’ve got something special here,” Fricano said.
Flag football is considered an emerging sport in the NCAA. There is no national tournament at the end of the season, so this bowl game carried extra meaning for both teams.
“It’s just adversity, sticking together, we, knowing that we have each other’s back even throughout the elements against us. It doesn’t matter,” Aimee Turner, a freshman quarterback for Roberts Wesleyan.
Fricano said players are already getting opportunities with coaches who want to see them in camps for the Olympics.
“This sport is a rocket ship. The opportunities that are in front of these girls in this sport are endless,” Fricano said.
Roberts Wesleyan won the game 12-0 to complete a perfect 12-0 season while just last week SUNY Brockport finished their conference season as the Empire 8’s first-ever champion.
“These girls worked extremely hard day in and day out. And we became a family and we stayed a family. We did something nobody else has ever done,” Charisse Everett, Brockport’s head coach said.
Both teams hope this bowl game is just the beginning for the growing sport.
“This is something that we’ve got an opportunity to be a leader in and we don’t take that lightly,” Fricano said.
Roberts Wesleyan, SUNY Brockport compete in Inaugural Mark’s Pizzeria Flag Football Cup WHEC.com.
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