Charrise Everett leads Brockport to first Empire 8 flag football title

Brockport erased a 12-0 hole and beat Elmira 36-31 at Bob Boozer Field to win the first Empire 8 women’s flag football championship, giving Charrise Everett a trophy in her first full season at the helm. The Golden Eagles finished 9-4 overall and 6-2 in league play, a quick climb for a program still defining itself.

Everett’s imprint has been clear from the start. Brockport built its identity around family first, integrity and sportsmanship, with BFLAG, bold, focus, leadership, accountability and grit, serving as the program’s shorthand. That culture showed up in the title run, where Brockport recovered from an early double-digit deficit and handled the pressure of the conference’s first championship game.

Brockport hired Everett on June 13, 2025 as the university’s first full-time head women’s flag football coach. A 2021 Brockport graduate, she returned after serving as athletic director and physical education teacher at Young Women’s College Prep in Rochester, where she also started the girls’ flag football program. Her background gave the Golden Eagles a coach who understood how to build a team from the ground up.

The Empire 8 added women’s flag football for the 2025-26 season with help from the NFL and RCX Sports, making it the league’s 28th sponsored championship sport. Brockport joined Elmira, Hartwick, SUNY Geneseo and Russell Sage in the first five-team field, and league play opened March 24, 2026. The conference tournament sent Brockport and the rest of the field into an unfamiliar spotlight almost immediately, with no prior championship history to lean on.

Brockport’s schedule reflected how fast the program moved. The Golden Eagles opened with an inaugural home game and a Morgan’s Message mental health awareness game on March 31, then advanced through the Empire 8 tournament before meeting Elmira for the title on April 24. After the championship, Brockport hosted Roberts Wesleyan in the inaugural Mark’s Pizzeria Flag Football Cup on April 29 and closed the season with a 40-0 Senior Day win over Daemen on May 1.

Megan Gerber’s rise added another layer to the story. The Empire 8 tournament MVP later earned an invitation to the USA Football Select Bowl in Los Angeles, competing on the U-23 Blue Team from June 17-20. Gerber also drew multiple invitations to Team USA women’s flag football tryouts after graduating, a sign that Brockport’s first roster is already producing national-level players.