This past weekend, in what was a cold, windy, and rainy start to the Staten Island Shootout Tournament of the National Collegiate Flag Football League, the College of Staten Island Women’s Flag Football club team was left unfazed by the weather and made history on its own campus. The team posted four wins against no losses, including a mark of 2-0 in the NCFFL Championships to be crowned the league’s first-ever NCFFL Champions.
A total of nine flag football games were played on Saturday and early Sunday morning on the College of Staten Island’s campus. For the Dolphins it was their first NCFFL games of the year as the team was unable to make the March 2025 NCFFL Battle in Buffalo Tournament. The team played against the University at Albany and St. Joseph’s College (LI) as part of the league’s standings. The Dolphins shut out both teams with scores of 34-0 and 44-0 respectively.
The NCFFL teams competing for the championship on Sunday afternoon, aside from the CSI Dolphins were Villa Maria College, SUNY Brockport, and SUNY Cortland. After all season games were complete, each of those four teams was seeded for the NCFFL Championships. Villa Maria College nabbed the No. 1 seed with a 6-0 record, while the Dolphins received the No. 2 seed with a 2-0 record. SUNY Brockport was the No. 3 seed with a 5-1 record and rounding out the NCFFL standings was SUNY Cortland who received the No. 4 seed with a 2-4 overall record.
The very first playoff game of NCFFL was an exciting one to say the least. As SUNY Cortland mounted a come-from-behind win over previously-undefeated Villa Maria College, 14-13. In the second game of the championship tournament, the Dolphins defeated SUNY Brockport, 40-6, in what would be the only points allowed by the Dolphin’s defense all weekend. As the NCFFL Championship game was underway, SUNY Cortland carried its momentum against the Dolphins for most of the first half, and although they didn’t score, they came close a few times. It wasn’t until late in the second quarter that the Dolphins offense started gaining traction. CSI went into the half with a two-score lead while the defense once again left their opponent on zero. In the end, CSI would go on to score a couple of more times to win the first-ever NCFFL Championship by a final score of 27-0.
CSI Head Coach, Frank Jennaco who is also co-president of the NCFFL alongside Villa Maria Head Coach Keith Wing had this to say after capturing the Championship, “This was a fantastic first season for the NCFFL, it was great to have so many excellent teams representing their schools and Women’s Flag Football. These teams are pioneers and should be proud of all they have accomplished.”
Alongside making history by winning the Championship, the College of Staten Island established itself as a prime host for flag football tournaments and showcases in the future, and as the emerging sport continues to grow on college campuses, CSI will be looked at as a flag-bearer for the sport and hosting capabilities, pun intended.
Full match-up details/results for the NCFFL Season Tournaments can be found using this link HERE.
CSI Dolphins Flag Football Team Page can be found HERE.
