Ole Miss Special Olympics flag football team brings home gold, and Iowa was in their way

While all eyes in college football are on Oxford, Mississippi, this weekend for the Ole Miss-LSU showdown, the town is also home to a defending national champion in football. Just not the kind you might think.

The Ole Miss Special Olympics College Flag Football Club represented Mississippi at the Special Olympics in Minneapolis this summer. The Rebels won the whole thing, defeating Iowa in the championship game to claim Mississippi's first-ever gold medal in the sport.

That makes this group of football Rebels the most decorated team on campus, at least for now.

What is the Ole Miss Special Olympics flag football team?

The team is made up of Ole Miss students called partners, along with local and regional individuals with intellectual disabilities, called athletes. Flag football in this category is played 5-on-5, with three athletes and two partners on the field for each team at all times.

Make no mistake, there might be flags instead of tackles, but this is still football. There are playbooks, touchdowns, running, passing and players chasing each other all over the field.

Hunter Crabbs, the intramural sports and sports clubs coordinator at Ole Miss who coached the gold medal flag team, said the process is similar to what fans will see Saturday night when the Rebels host LSU.

“These kids have play cards on their arms, I call plays,” Crabbs said. “It's a much smaller playbook than what we might be using on Saturday night, but it's a very similar process.”

How the Rebels rallied to beat Iowa for the gold

After earning the right to represent Mississippi by defeating a team from Mississippi State, the Rebels overcame adversity in Minneapolis. They lost their first two games, felt down in the dumps, but rallied to reach the championship game.

In that final game against Iowa, one of the teams that tagged an early loss on the Rebels in pool play, a key Ole Miss player went down with a serious injury. The score was tight at the time.

But the Rebels dug deep again and came away with the emotional victory. Chants of “Hotty Toddy” rang through the Ole Miss fan section and along the sideline.

“We were so excited, we were all jumping around,” said 27-year-old Madison Dennis, an athlete who plays defense for the team and is its only woman. “We honestly couldn't believe it. It was awesome to bring home gold back to Ole Miss.”

Gold medal win builds friendships and confidence

The Rebels brought back more than gold. They brought back memories, friendships, confidence and self-esteem that had grown and blossomed.

Ole Miss senior Jason Skocy, a center for the flag football team, said the trip changed some of his teammates.

“There's a couple of our athletes who, going into this trip, I would have said they're probably going to be maybe a little shy, maybe not want to interact with other teams,” Skocy said. “I was completely wrong. They were out there, making friends, staying up, playing Xbox in the lobby. It was cool to see.”

The team also took a trip to Mall of America, toured Minneapolis and went to a baseball game. There were also all kinds of fun activities in the athletes' Olympic Village that kept the players busy.

For Dennis, making friends became just as important as chasing down quarterbacks, which she does with glee.

“Oh yes, I did that,” Dennis said, recalling her pursuits of opposing quarterbacks. “I just love flag football. And it has helped me build new friendships, different people that I would have never gotten to meet. And the partners, I like having them there to help us. That's a pretty cool thing.”

What's next for the defending national champions

The Rebels traveled with 9 players to Minnesota, but there are enough players in the Ole Miss intramural flag football program to make up at least six teams.

The team that won the national championship returns all of its players. One highlight on this year's schedule as the Rebels defend their national title is the annual Egg Bowl matchup against Mississippi State.

“It's a big one for us,” Skocy said. “The Egg Bowl probably means just as much to us as the gold medal. That's big on the calendar, so practices are going to rev up here in a little bit.”

In the meantime, the flag football champs are revved up to cheer on their fellow Ole Miss football brethren in the big showdown Saturday night against LSU. Last weekend, the football team honored the gold medal winners during a home game.

“I don't know what it sounded like to the rest of the stadium, but down there on the field, when the camera panned to the athletes, it sounded like the student section erupted and you would have thought that we just ran in a touchdown,” Crabbs said. “They were cheering so loud for our athletes and partners and it was really awesome to observe. Our players, they've definitely become mini celebrities.”

Skocy hopes the recognition inspires the football team.

“Hopefully, they see us and they're like, 'Well, we've got to go get a national championship now,'” Skocy said with a smile.