Dowling Catholic's Olivia Meredith signs with Nebraska flag football

Olivia Meredith grew up playing football.The Dowling senior gave up her favorite sport after her freshman year – despite competing in one season of high school tackle football – and turned her focus to basketball, where she knew there would be more opportunities to continue playing after high school.And then, her high school added flag football."I had stopped (playing football) because I thought it wouldn't go anywhere, but now (flag football) is coming back, and it felt like the perfect opportunity for me to pursue that again," Meredith told the Des Moines Register in April 2026.Her childhood dreams of having the opportunity to play college football came true this past spring.On Oct. 12, Meredith announced her commitment to Nebraska, the only Power 4 school to offer flag football as a varsity sport. In total, there are 17 Division I institutions that offer the sport at the varsity level.On Nov. 12, she held her official signing day ceremony at Dowling Catholic High School.More: Olivia Meredith back doing what she loves with Dowling flag football"It's unreal," Meredith said. "This hasn't kicked in yet, and I'm just so excited to be one of the first people to lead that pathway for the younger girls to look up to. I just can't wait to go out there and do what I love."The Cornhuskers were Meredith's dream program from the moment the university announced it would field flag football as a varsity sport. She shared that she's excited about the prospect of being close to home as she takes this next step in her flag football career.Surrounded by family and friends — and coaches and trainers — who helped her on her journey, the impact that Meredith has had on growing the sport was evident at Thursday's ceremony. Crouched in the front row were fourth- and fifth-grade girls who Meredith coached in flag football."You can see their love for the game, and now they have a goal they can reach and it's possible for them in the future to play at the college level," Meredith said. "Coaching them and showing them my love for the sport, it's amazing. I've always wanted to be a good leader, and right now, I can be a good leader for all the people who look up to me."Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dowling Catholic's Olivia Meredith signs with Nebraska flag football