WICHITA, Kan. — Baker University (Kan.) will be joining the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) as a per-sport member in Women's Flag Football for the 2023-24 season, the conference office announced Thursday. The 2023-24 season will be the first season of competition in women's flag football for the Wildcats.
“Blessed & honored doesn’t begin to explain how thrilled I am to be the head coach of this beginning program at Baker University," Willy Perez, the Wildcats' head coach, said. "The opportunity to create awareness in our town of Baldwin about the vastly growing sport of flag football and how athletes can now play this sport collegiately is super exciting! I am ready to grow this sport as best I can and Baker is giving me the Avenue to do so!”
"Baker University Athletics is extremely excited to welcome flag football to the Baker Family," Susan Decker, Baker University Director of Athletics, remarked. "This is a rapidly growing sport and we are excited to join the KCAC and have Coach Willy Perez lead his team in arguably the best flag football conference in the country. The addition of this sport will bring more awareness about the game to Baldwin City and surrounding communities as well as young women who have been a part of flag football in other parts of the country. I’m anxious to watch the young women compete on our campus."
Baker will field the ninth women's flag football team in the KCAC. The Wildcats join KCAC full member institutions Bethel College, Kansas Wesleyan University, Ottawa University, Southwestern College, and the University of Saint Mary, and per-sport members Midland University (Neb.), Cottey College (Mo.), and Graceland University (Iowa).
"We are thrilled to extend this invitation to Baker University to join with our other eight programs to begin competition in the 2023-24 school year. We look forward to having the Wildcats compete for a conference title and boost the number of collegiate teams adding Women's Flag Football. It will not be long until the NAIA is granting National Invitational status and eventually National Championship status to Women's Flag Football," stated Dr. Scott Crawford, KCAC Commissioner.
About Baker University
Founded in 1858 as the first university in Kansas, Baker University is a private institution that educates traditional and nontraditional students through small classes, innovative instructors, and rigorous course work. Fortune 500 CEOs, New York Times best-selling authors, and Super Bowl champions all proudly claim Baker as their alma mater. Baker has the highest return on investment of private universities in Kansas and a 99 percent career and graduate school placement rate, and Baker grads earn the highest average salaries among graduates from Kansas universities.
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About the KCAC
Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and sponsors 30 varsity sports, and growing. As the conference home to 14 member institutions, the KCAC emphasizes commitment, cooperation, high achievement, and working towards a common goal in the act of competition. To keep up with the latest conference news, follow the KCAC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the handle @kcacsports.
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