Tim Griffiths, who also serves as the Academic Interventionist Coach for Goldey-Beacom College’s Athletics Department, has been tabbed the first Women’s Flag Football coach in school history.
“I’m very excited to announce Tim in this new role at GBC,” Director of Athletics Jeremy Benoit said. “Tim is a man of the highest character and his devotion to the academic support of our current student-athlete body has produced tremendous results in increasing the academic profile of our department. His history as a former Division II football student-athlete and his deeply-rooted ties to the public education system in the State of Delaware make him a tremendous fit to lead this program.”
Griffiths for four years has been instrumental in raising the academic profile of the Athletics Department and proven to be a valuable mentor. This position was created to give more individualized attention to academically at-risk student-athletes across all Goldey-Beacom rosters and to address critical topics like time management, study skills, student-professor communication and attention to detail.
“I am honored to have been chosen and humbled by the task to create a new opportunity for women in sports at GBC,” Griffiths said. “Flag football is an ultimate team sport that teaches leadership, sportsmanship and self-confidence. Our Bolts will be a force to be reckoned with, not only on the field, but with everything they do in life.”
Goldey-Beacom last season had 57 student-athletes named to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference All-Academic Team, which is based on cumulative GPA. The Softball team in 2024-25 had the league’s highest GPA, one year after Women’s Cross Country and Women’s Soccer accomplished this.
The department in January 2024 recorded a 91-percent mark in the NCAA Academic Success Rate, its highest in the College’s 20 years as a Division II member.
Griffiths himself was a football student-athlete, playing football and baseball at Coatesville Area High School before being inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. He went on to play football at Division II Mansfield University, serving as the team’s captain, before playing five years for the US National Rugby team. Griffiths went on to complete his Master’s degree at Arcadia University, the educational administration program at Wilmington University, and a credential in special education credential at the University of Delaware.
Griffiths has been a program-starter throughout his professional career, opening alternative education centers in Philadelphia and additional centers along the east coast. His career led him back into the classroom, where he worked for several schools in New Castle County before his current role as Dean of Students at Mount Pleasant High School.
Griffiths’ additional title comes as the school announced Women’s Flag Football will be introduced as the College’s 15th intercollegiate sport, beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.
“We are incredibly excited to be getting in on the ground floor of flag football as an NCAA sport,” Benoit added. “This is a sport that has shown incredible growth in the last few years at the high school level. This, in part, is due to the investment the National Football League has made in growing the sport nationwide. We look forward to capitalizing on our close proximity to the Philadelphia Eagles to hopefully create some pretty unique student-athlete experiences.”
Identified last February as an “NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program,” flag football receives sponsor legislation for all three divisions the NCAA sponsors.
It has yet to be announced which conference Goldey-Beacom will compete. There are four other CACC institutions who plan to add the sport by the spring of 2027, increasing the possibility for a league schedule and championship that year.
Flag football has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. Over 65 NCAA schools are sponsoring the sport either at the club or varsity levels, with more slated to join for the 2025-26 academic year. Flag football also has been added as a sport for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The Emerging Sports for Women program also includes Acrobatics and Tumbling, Equestrian (Divisions I and II), Rugby, Stunt and Triathlon. The program is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for schools.
Tim and his wife Jennifer have lived in Pike Creek for the last 25 years, raising three kids in Delaware public schools.
