Makena Cook of
Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) becomes the first female athlete to receive a Power 4 flag football offer as Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule traveled to California to make the verbal offer in person.
Cook earned MaxPreps California Junior of the Year honors this past fall after tying the state lead with 112 passing touchdowns to go along with 7,083 passing yards while completing 74 percent of her passes.
She led Orange Lutheran to a record of 24-3, with the team's only three losses coming against the nation's No. 1 team
JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.). In two seasons as the starting quarterback for Orange Lutheran, Cook has amassed 13,694 passing with 215 touchdowns versus 32 interceptions in 49 career games. She has also carried 110 times for 719 yards and six additional scores.
At the 2026 NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C. last week, flag football entered the Emerging Sports for Women program.
An emerging sport is a women's sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to help schools provide more athletic opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for institutions, while helping that sport achieve NCAA Championship status.
Since the creation of the program in 1994, eight sports have become championship sports.
The Big Ten offer to the California standout could open the door for other prominent female athletes in flag football to receive more opportunities across the country.
Makena Cook becomes first female athlete to receive a Division I flag football offer. (FILE PHOTO: Marc Gewertz)
