Knights Make History Again, Claim Inaugural Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic Championship

RWC Staff

Posted Monday, April 20, 2026 @ 12:45 PM

Knights Make History Again, Claim Inaugural Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic Championship

UCF defeats Florida 19-7 on national television to capture the first-ever Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic title, adding another chapter to the most storied flag football program in collegiate history

 

TEMPE, ARIZ — Forty-seven years ago, a group of UCF students made history on a flag football field, capturing what would become the first of a nation-leading 16 national championships. On Sunday, the Knights Flag Football Club wrote the newest chapter of that story in a sport that’s emerging at the highest levels across the country.

Playing in front of a live national television audience on ESPNU and the ESPN App, the Knights defeated the University of Florida 19-7 at the Fields at Dorsey on the campus of Arizona State University to claim the title of the first-ever Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic presented by Oakley. The game was the marquee event of the inaugural tournament, billed as “the highest-profile national collegiate flag football invitational ever staged” and UCF’s dominant performance from wire to wire left little doubt about who deserved to hoist the inaugural trophy.

The Knights finished the two-day tournament a perfect 6-0, outscoring their opponents by an 158-21 margin and surrendering just three touchdowns all weekend. In pool-play on Saturday, UCF blanked USC 20-0, defeated Georgia 21-7, and dominated Grand Canyon University 44-0 to claim the top seed heading into Sunday’s championship bracket. In bracket play, the Knights dispatched Grand Canyon again, 28-0 and defeated fellow Big 12 opponent Arizona State 26-7 in the Semifinal. That lead to the matchup with the Gators, bringing on a Florida program they knew well that had defeated UCF in the NIRSA Championship Series national tournament final each of the last four years, including most recently in January in Houston.

Sunday was different.

A DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS AND A HISTORIC FIRST HALF

UF won the opening coin toss and took possession first, but the Gators never found their footing. On UF’s opening drive, quarterback Mieke Rowe completed a pass over the middle, and the receiver attempted a lateral to a teammate, a decision that proved costly. Senior wide receiver Lindsay Ward (#23) was in the right place at the right time, swooping in to intercept the pitch and giving UCF the ball with immediate field position.

The Knights drove deep into the red zone before turning the ball over on downs on fourth and goal. But the defense, coordinated by Assistant Coach Bianca Lagos (’16 BS, Sport & Exercise Science) and multiple-time national champion as a player herself, held firm and forced a UF punt, giving the ball back to UCF in plus territory to close out the first quarter.

From there, UCF took control. Junior quarterback Kayla Ludwig, a transfer from Florida Gateway College who arrived in Orlando as an NJCAA national champion, found sophomore wide receiver Lahela Cornett (#7) on a fingertip catch down the sideline for a 20-yard gain to set up first and goal. On third and goal from the 5-yard line, Ward took a direct snap in motion and raced to the right pylon for the first touchdown of the game. The conversion attempt fell incomplete, but UCF led 6-0 with 10:23 remaining in the second quarter.

The Knights’ defense continued to stifle Florida’s prolific offense. On a crucial fourth and three at the UF 37, the Gator ball-carrier was stopped just short of the marker by sophomore linebacker Emma Dolan (#0) on a clutch flag pull. Florida’s runner was flagged for illegal contact on the play, but UCF declined the penalty and took over with excellent field position.

UCF threatened again before the half, with the dual-quarterback system clicking in the red zone. Ludwig connected with sophomore wide receiver Emma Clark (#22) on a swing pass, who pitched to Ludwig for a gain down to the 10-yard line. Despite reaching fourth and goal, the Knights could not convert, and the Gators escaped trailing just 6-0 with under three minutes remaining.

What followed was a mastery of clock management and aggressive play-calling that would help the Knights take further control of the game.

Head coach Brandon Baroody (’13 BS, Business Administration) and NIRSA Hall of Fame inductee and multi-time National Tournament Champion as a player in his own right, who guided the Knights as a coach to four consecutive national titles from 2013-2016 and another championship in 2021 — called a timeout and drew up the sequence his team needed. Florida’s punt into the wind traveled only 20 yards, and UCF took over at the UF 32 with 60 seconds on the clock. Kayla Ludwig found Emma Clark on a short pass and catch to push the ball to the UF 26. Then junior quarterback Rylee McDaid connected with junior wide receiver Amber Richards (#8) for a first down and goal at the 17 with 38 seconds left.

After a short gain from McDaid to Ward, the Knights lined up with 23 seconds on the clock. McDaid fired a dart to the back of the end zone, and Clark went up and pulled it down along the back line with 15 seconds remaining, a score that proved fitting given Clark’s background as a member of both the 15U and 17U USA Junior National Teams. Ludwig then found Clark again in the end zone on the conversion, and UCF went into the halftime break with a 13-0 lead.

GATORS BITE BACK, KNIGHTS SEAL THE WIN

UCF received the second-half’s first possession and after a short drive, a deep shot from McDaid to Ward was intercepted by Florida at their own 24-yard line, giving the Gators life. Florida capitalized, driving past midfield for the first time in the game and culminating in a touchdown.  Rowe connected with receiver Ava Godfrey, and converted the ensuing try to cut the deficit to 13-7 with 5:55 left in the third quarter.

With momentum shifting, the Knights drove deep into UF territory before stalling on fourth down, and the Gators took over with 1:50 left in the period. The UCF defense responded, forcing a punt, and the Knights got the ball back at their own 15 with 11:40 remaining in the game.

Ludwig and McDaid went to work. Ludwig hit Richards for a 12-yard gain to cross the line to gain, then found Clark again for another 12-yard pickup into UF territory at the 34. UCF appeared to extend the drive further, picking up what looked like another first down near the seven-minute mark, but an offensive pass interference penalty pushed them back. McDaid stepped in to punt from the UF 37, and the kick pinned Florida at their own 14.

With 5:53 remaining, Florida mounted one final charge. Rowe found her receivers on back-to-back completions to earn a first down to their own 31. Senior linebacker Natalia Mateo (#12) answered with a diving tackle for loss, pushing the Gators back to the 28. Florida rebounded with a clutch third-and-10 conversion to creep into UCF territory with just over three minutes to play.

Then Eliana Higbie-Long made the play that sealed the championship.

On the very next snap, Florida attempted a double pass to try and catch the Knights off guard. Rowe threw to a back, who attempted to fire it downfield. Sophomore cornerback Higbie-Long (#2), who had been a force all afternoon with nine flag pulls in the game, stepped in front of the throw at UCF’s own 30-yard line for the interception. When ESPN’s Phoebe Schecter asked her what was going through her mind in the moment, Higbie-Long laughed and admitted: “I was thinking ‘Don’t drop this pass’… no, this is surreal, I don’t think I had anything in my mind at that moment!” The sophomore was named the game’s Defensive MVP.

Higbie-Long’s interception set the stage for Ludwig to deliver the knockout blow. Taking a direct snap, the junior quarterback burst through the line and ran 50 yards untouched through four defenders for the touchdown with approximately two minutes remaining. UCF led 19-7, and even though the 1 point conversion came up incomplete, it ultimately did not matter. When asked to describe the feeling in the aftermath, Ludwig was ecstatic: “I feel on top of the world. On that last play I saw one teammate go this way and one teammate go that way, and I just took off!” She added: “It’s amazing, I love this team so much to be here with them, it’s an amazing experience.” Ludwig finished the championship game 8-of-10 passing, added six receptions, and rushed three times for 64 yards — including the clinching score. She was named the game’s Offensive MVP.

UCF took a knee to run out the clock. Then the team gave their head coach an ice bath, dousing Baroody as the final horn sounded on a 19-7 victory and the program’s first Fiesta Bowl championship.

“THIS FELT BIGGER THAN JUST A FLAG TOURNAMENT”

After the game, Coach Baroody reflected on the totality of the weekend in Tempe.

“The entire weekend at the Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic was surreal,” Baroody said. “We were treated like royalty from the moment our plane arrived in Phoenix to the moment we departed. We thought we had a good idea of what we were getting ourselves into, but they blew past all expectations. The staff and volunteers were beyond accommodating, the media coverage was phenomenal and the competition was the cherry on top.”

Baroody pointed to the experience of competing against programs from across the country as something unique for his squad, and he made clear that what resonated most went beyond the final score. “The most memorable part of the weekend was seeing how many young players and fans attended the event,” he said. “Our team had the privilege of signing autographs, taking photos and speaking with so many young girls and boys who have just started their flag football journey. You could see the glow on their face when we interacted with them. This felt bigger than just a flag tournament, and more like a huge stepping stone toward the elevation of flag football. It does not hurt to be able to experience that in real time while also earning the right to call UCF the first ever Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic champions.”

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE MOMENT

UCF’s connection to flag football history runs deeper than most programs in the country. In 1979, a UCF student-athlete named Calvin Lingelbach, a two-sport standout on the basketball and baseball teams from 1973-78 and a member of the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2001, led his UCF intramural flag football team named “The Humps” to the first ever National Flag Football Tournament at the University of New Orleans. UCF would win their first Co-Rec (8 on 8 Coed) Championship in 2004, and the school’s first Women’s title in 2008. That would set up a run of 15 total national titles across all three divisions in a 20-year span, along with 11 2nd place finishes. With the emergence of Women’s Club Flag Football in the last decade, UCF plans to be an active member of the new NIRSA and NFL initiative of the first nationwide Women’s Club Flag Football League.

What made Sunday’s championship particularly significant was the scale: a national television broadcast on ESPNU, eight programs from coast to coast competing in the inaugural field, and a Fiesta Bowl-level hospitality experience that treated club sport student-athletes like the trailblazers they are.

CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS

– Kayla Ludwig’s game sealing touchdown

– Championship game top plays

– UCF offensive highlights

– Kayla Ludwig’s touchdown against Grand Canyon

SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ

The Fiesta Bowl chronicled the tournament to their social media followers that prominently featured the Knights Flag Football Club. Below is just a selection of the various mentions and highlights, with links to each post available by clicking on the image.

 

 

 

IN THE NEWS

The first D-1 women’s flag football tournament just happened — and it’s only the beginning – NYTimes
Sights, sounds and stakes from the inaugural Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic – The IX Sports
UCF Wins Inaugural Fiesta Bowl Classic – CollegiateFlagFootball.com
Women’s Flag Football solidifying impact through Fiesta Bowl – The Arizona State Press
Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic strengthens push for sport’s NCAA Status – Sports Business Journal
UCF Coach Brandon Baroody is interviewed by the voice of UCF, Marc Daniels 

MORE PLAYER QUOTES

Kayla Ludwig: “The Fiesta Bowl experience this weekend meant the absolute word to me and it is a memory I will never forget. I loved every second of it and it is such a monumental movement in the right direction for women’s flag football. I started playing flag in middle school and little me never thought I would be playing on the biggest stage at the 2026 Fiesta Bowl (Classic). It was and incredible experience and I am happy I was there at the end holding up the trophy on the stage with my girls and coach.”

Eliana Higbie-Long: “This whole experience has been surreal, to play with this team specifically means everything. These people are my best friends and playing with them on this stage has been so fun. We knew coming into this it was gonna be a fight and we’d have to come out foot on the throttle, the whole way through. That’s exactly what we did and got the job done. I’ll never forget the immense joy and rollercoaster of emotions we all felt. This is 100% a core memory for me.”

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS FLAG FOOTBALL CLUB

The Knights Flag Football Club is one of 45 Registered Student Organizations within the Sport Club Council, an Agency of UCF Student Government and a program of the Recreation and Wellness Center. Sport Clubs at UCF are student-led organizations that provide competitive athletic opportunities beyond the varsity level and are supported in part through Activity and Service Fee allocations by UCF Student Government. To learn more about UCF Sport Clubs, visit rwc.sswb.ucf.edu/sport-clubs/about. Follow the Knights Flag Football Club on Instagram at @knightsflagfootball.

It should also be noted that UCF club flag football carries another piece of institutional history: the program was originally founded as a Sport Club by UCF alumna Caroline Caplinger — now the head coach of the University of Georgia flag football program, one of the eight teams that competed this weekend in Tempe.

SUPPORT UCF SPORT CLUBS — RWC EXCELLENCE FUND

The Knights Flag Football Club’s operations are made possible in part by the support of the UCF community. The RWC Excellence Fund allows donors to directly support the Knights Flag Football Club and any of UCF Recreation and Wellness Center’s 45 Sport Clubs. Your contribution helps student-athletes compete at the highest levels, travel to national events, and represent UCF with pride. To make a gift and designate your support to the Flag Football Club or another Sport Club, visit foundation.ucf.edu/givetorwc. For more information, please contact Gary Cahen at gary.cahen@ucf.edu

For more information on the Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic presented by Oakley, visit FiestaSportsFoundation.org.

2026 FIESTA BOWL FLAG FOOTBALL CLASSIC — UCF KNIGHTS ROSTER