Montclair State University will host the first collegiate women’s flag football game ever played in New Jersey on March 9, 2026.
Since announcing the integration of the program 15 months ago, the athletic department has built a coaching staff and roster, and has joined a 15-team conference partnered with the New York Jets. When the Red Hawks jog onto the turf at Sprague Field for the first time, junior Maya Anico will have another chance at her collegiate career.
“I never knew a life without sports,” Anico said. “It’s really cool that I can—I’ve never played football, and… now I’m playing in college. That’s a dream.”
It has been a journey toward self-appreciation for Anico, who, since her backyard football days, has refused to give up on athletics.
“I grew up with an older brother, so I was around boys a lot,” Anico said. “Our favorite game to play in the backyard was one person with the football and four kids in the middle, no padding, nothing. You just have to run through them. And there were no excuses [just] because I was a girl.”
Junior Maya Anico snags a pass during Montclair State flag football's first preseason practice. Tim David | The Montclarion
After trying 10 different sports growing up, soccer stuck. A standout at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, she was given the chance to play at Montclair State, one of the top nearby Division III programs. But after sitting out her freshman season, Anico never found her footing on the pitch.
“Coming into the spring season, I was excited, but it just didn’t feel right,” Anico said. “I got in my head… I felt like I had to prove myself even more, and I knew that everyone was looking at me. And I was terrified. I choked. I didn’t feel like I was doing anything right.”
She recalled the moment that her dream of being a college soccer player ended.
“It took a toll on my mental health. I think the coach and I both saw that, and we kind of just mutually agreed that this isn’t working for me. And it sucked because I knew he was right. I wanted it not to be true. It was so difficult to just say ‘you’re right, I have to move on [from] this.’”
In the months that followed, Anico struggled to find her identity, which had long been tied to her extensive athletic career.
“It was hard,” she said. “I had to find a purpose. Once you become an athlete and you’re playing your whole life, you are your sport, and so finding out that you’re more than just your sport was tough.” Soon, a new hobby presented itself.
“I started to get really into the gym. That was a way to get my energy, anger, thoughts out, a way to just be by myself. That was my time to think, but also work hard and feel good about myself.”
Anico was in the gym when she saw a post promoting the club women’s rugby team on campus. She decided to show up.
“I felt like I was playing in the backyard with my brother again," said junior Maya Anico about her first time trying flag football. "I felt like I was healing my inner child. And so I knew that I had to do it.” Tim David | The Montclarion
“I just remember falling in love with it,” she said. “I just needed that confidence back, and that was a place for it to grow. It was a transition period that I really needed, and I needed that extra boost to get me back to that athlete mentality, that I could do anything.”
Then the news broke: flag football was coming to Montclair State. Though she was hesitant at first, Anico’s decision became clear after a few practices with the club-level flag team.
“I felt like I was playing in the backyard with my brother again,” Anico said. “I felt like I was just throwing the football around at the beach. I felt like I was healing my inner child. And so I knew that I had to do it.”
Football carries a deeper meaning for Anico, rooted in her upbringing.
“Usually in families, the dad and the son are the more football-oriented, but it’s me and my mom. That’s our thing. We love football. We sit down every Sunday.”
Now, Maya and her family can enjoy a spring full of football. The Red Hawks are scheduled to play 14 games over seven weeks in their inaugural season, competing in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Reflecting on how she got here, Anico has set a simple goal.
“For me personally, I just want to make my younger self proud,” she said. “If I could tell her that I was playing football in college, she would not believe me. I want to play every game like it’s my last — kind of cheesy, but seriously — I don’t want to have any regrets.”
