The debut of flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics is a reflection of the growth of the sport across the country and world, including right here in Tennessee. As the world will tune in to watch the games, a Volunteer has been working behind the scenes to support the growth of the game.
Carlos Diaz, intramural coordinator with RecSports at the University of Tennessee, also works as a flag football official and teaches others, from student workers at UT to officials on international stages, to become better officials for the sport. 
After being introduced to flag football officiating as an undergraduate, Diaz continued officiating as a graduate assistant with RecSports, which provided him the opportunity to also teach others in officiating the sport.
In 2022, Diaz first got involved with USA Football, a subsidiary of the International Federation of American Football. Through his work with USA Football, he has traveled to national and international events to officiate high level games as well as train other game officials.
“Every year around March I go to the USA trials,” Diaz said. “I’ll go to those trials to work on my officiating and to help the coaches with rules.”
Just recently, Diaz traveled to Toluca, Mexico, as a flag football clinician to help train officials in a national tournament with teams from each state of Mexico competing. This trip focused on teaching officials the IFAF rule book, which will be used for the Olympic games.
Through his work with USA Football, Diaz has also been able to get UT student officials involved with the organization, helping to excel their careers as well. In 2023, Diaz’s graduate assistant was able to travel with him to an intercontinental tournament to officiate. While Diaz worked the higher level games, his graduate assistant, Brenn Simmons, officiated the junior cup.
Multiple other students have also had the opportunity to work various camps and tournaments through the guidance of Diaz. At upcoming US training camps in March, he plans to bring Dianna Choque, current intramural graduate assistant, and other UT students to help them gain experience on a national stage.
Having first met Diaz at a NIRSA flag football tournament while officiating, Choque joined the RecSports department as a graduate assistant and has grown in her field under the guidance of Diaz.
“He is always looking for new opportunities to help me grow in the field of officiating, especially in flag football,” Choque said. “His support and encouragement for my potential in evaluating officials has allowed me to not only mature as a leader but also learn that I have a passion in officiating and developing others.”
Choque recognizes how she utilizes these experiences to better support UT students through RecSports.
“My level of officiating has grown tremendously and the skills that I am gaining, I use to take back to our students so that they can develop in the same way,” Choque said.
As one of the lead officials at the US training camps, Diaz plays a prominent role within the USA Football organization and plans to continue working towards the upcoming debut of flag football at the 2028 Olympics. Whether he is training other officials or working as an official himself, he strives to play a part in the Los Angeles games.
“The goal is to stay involved and try and get to the Olympics,” Diaz said. “If I am not officiating the Olympics, I would love to know I played a role in helping the officials that do get selected.”
He acknowledges how RecSports has supported his goals, while intramural efforts simultaneously benefit the student population. On par with the growth of the sport globally, RecSports has seen a significant increase in the participation of intramural flag football on campus, growing from 1,154 total participants in 2022 to 2,287 in 2024, with steady increase in both men’s and women’s participation.
With Diaz’s expertise, UT students are provided with a unique opportunity to excel in the growing sport.