Manor College in Jenkintown announced today that it will debut women’s flag football and men’s volleyball for the 2025-26 school year.
Both sports are expected to play their first home games on campus in 2026.
“I am excited to launch these new sports here at Manor College,” John Dempster, Athletic Director, said. “Women’s flag football, in particular, is getting extremely popular and I want Manor College to be a trailblazer for this sport in our area.”
The PIAA sanctioned the sport for the Spring 2025 season and roughly 1,600 players are members of 65 teams across eastern Pennsylvania, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Abington High School’s team has been dominant since the sport’s local inception.
On the collegiate level, the Atlantic East Conference, which includes teams from Eastern University, Holy Family University and Neumann University, announced their recognition of women’s flag football as an NCAA sport.
An announcement on a head coach is expected in the near future. Dempster expects the team to field a roster between 10 and 20 players, and the institution said it already has interest from students already enrolled at Manor. Tori Simmons, a freshman at Manor College studying Veterinary Technology, played flag football for two years while attending Cheltenham High School.
“Girls I played with in high school were familiar with football and it made them want to come out and play,” said Simmons, who currently plays on the women’s basketball team at Manor. “There’s a strong community you gain from playing football. I’m excited to play again at Manor.”
Simmons, who played wide receiver at Cheltenham, plans to play for the Blue Jays next Spring.
Men’s Volleyball
The Blue Jays begin their first men’s volleyball season in Spring 2026. A coach has not yet been named.
Men’s volleyball has been an official sport sponsored by the NCAA since 2018, and the NJCAA region 19 features eight teams. While Manor College is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the team would begin as an independent.
A proposal to the Eastern States Athletic Conference, of which Manor College is a founding member, is expected in the near future. The Blue Jays have been home to a women’s volleyball team for several decades, most recently competing in the ESAC and USCAA. A unisex volleyball club featuring informal games on campus helped to fuel interest in a men’s team, the school said.
“With our current student body and new recruits coming in, we are hoping to be competitive in men’s volleyball from the beginning,” Dempster said.
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Photo: Manor College
