In just one year, the Bears went from hosting the first-ever collegiate women's flag football game in Illinois between Rockford University and Benedictine University, commemorating each program's first season, to organizing an inaugural tournament for seven collegiate programs at Halas Hall.
The two-day tournament, which concluded on International Women's Day, featured Rockford and Benedictine as second-year programs and Aurora University, North Park University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Illinois College and College of DuPage as first-year programs.
"It was exciting and gratifying to host the women's collegiate tournament," director of football development Gustavo Silva said. "Seeing the young ladies that came through our girls flag programs now competing at the next level was extremely fulfilling. It's important for us to follow through on our commitment to help build not only the sport, but also a pathway for girls and women in flag football. All roads in this initiative lead to collegiate, Olympic and professional opportunities for women."
Over the past several years, the Bears have helped launch and grow girls flag football at the high school level, starting in Chicago before expanding throughout Illinois, which led to the sport being sanctioned by the Illinois High School Association in 2024.
While remaining active supporters of the high school programs, the Bears are also focused on helping expand opportunities for women at the collegiate level and beyond. Many of the players who competed in the tournament were not strangers to Halas Hall, having attended training camp practices, career expos or even prior state championship games during their high school flag football careers.
One of those athletes is Illinois Wesleyan freshman and two-way player Layah Glover, who graduated from Round Lake High School — just 20 miles from the Bears' practice facility — has attended the club's annual Scout School and earned Bears Girls Flag Football Player of the Week honors in 2024.
"It's been so cool — just the opportunities presented to girls who are playing flag in high school, middle school and even youth camps are insane, especially the global impact the sport is having," Glover said. "What the Bears have done is super impactful, and getting to see familiar faces like Gus, who we've developed a bond with over the years, is really special. It's been an insane journey with the Bears supporting us."
The Bears brought plenty of that support to the seven collegiate teams. Staley Da Bear was in attendance Saturday to spend time with the players' families and fans, while President & CEO Kevin Warren served as the honorary captain for Sunday's championship game. General manager Ryan Poles and special advisor to the President/CEO & chief administrative officer Ted Crews also stopped by to watch the championship game.
Warren, who has helped push the sport forward since the beginning of his tenure in Chicago, spoke to all four teams in Sunday's bracket, sharing his gratitude for their commitment to flag football and words of encouragement for their futures in the sport.
"To think that for five of the seven teams that are participating in the tournament this weekend, this is their first year of flag football, just shows the growth, shows the talent," Warren said. "It shows everything that is great about this sport. These young women are talented. As I told them before kickoff, many of the young women who are participating today will have an opportunity to be playing at the Olympics in L.A. in 2028 for the United States of America. It also is a testament to the way the NFL has leaned into flag football. People follow the league's lead, so I want to commend Commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff for everything the NFL is doing and all the resources that they put into it.
"And then, the biggest thank you is to the McCaskey family. Just thanks to the vision that Virginia McCaskey has set forth, and now that all of her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids here at the Bears are carrying forward to be able to support girls flag football here, which is great.
"So to be here last year, to see the first women's college game in Illinois happen, and then to come back this year and have a seven-team tournament, is special. The talent is outstanding, and there is so much that goes into it for to these players, these coaches, their parents, and just to support them is special."
On Saturday, Aurora defeated North Park and Rockford in a round robin-style format to take home a trophy and individual celebratory rings, while Illinois Wesleyan beat College of DuPage and Illinois College on Sunday to be named champions of a bracket-style format. The tournament helped kick off the collegiate season, which will now run through April.
While many of the coaches who were on the sidelines at Halas Hall are just getting their programs off the ground and look forward to making corrections from the weekend's competition, they are first and foremost grateful for the experience their teams received.
"I'm from a city and a state that does not have a professional football team to support high school flag football," Illinois Wesleyan head coach Melissa Valenzuela said, who hails from Oregon. "So when I was given the opportunity to coach in Illinois, I was immensely, immensely surprised and appreciative of how much the Chicago Bears have really invested into high school girls flag football, but also into the continuance of their development and their achievements at the college level.
"This was absolutely an amazing tournament that they put on."
