Girls' and Women's Flag Football Data: State Sanctioning and College Programs
As of October 26, 2026, 25 state associations, including D.C., have voted to sanction girls' high school flag football, and 24 of them are playing sanctioned seasons now. 263 colleges field varsity women's flag football as of October 16, 2026, 126 of them at levels that allow athletic scholarships, and 125 more play it as a club.
102,360 girls played high school flag football in 2025-26, at 3,990 schools, by the NFHS participation survey. 9 in 10 high school girls live within 100 miles of a college program.
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The numbers.Each with its date.
- state associations, including D.C., have voted to sanction girls' high school flag football (24 of the 50 states plus D.C.)
- 25
- As of October 26, 2026 · Girls' HS tracker
- colleges field a women's flag football team, varsity or club, plus 49 unconfirmed clubs
- 388
- As of October 16, 2026 · Women's college tracker
- field it as a varsity sport, in 37 states; 2 more have announced a varsity team
- 263
- As of October 16, 2026 · Women's college tracker
- varsity programs play at levels that allow athletic scholarships (NCAA D-I, NCAA D-II, NAIA)
- 126
- As of October 16, 2026 · Women's college tracker
- high school girls live within 100 miles of a college program
- 9 in 10
- As of October 16, 2026 · Method below
Use the data.Credit BreakAway.
Both datasets are licensed CC BY 4.0: use, share and adapt them with credit. The suggested attribution line: Source: BreakAway (breakawaydata.com), CC BY 4.0.
Girls' High School Flag Football State Tracker
The status of girls' high school flag football in all 50 states and D.C.: sanctioning status, governing body, vote date, first season, first championship, season and NFHS participation, with a source for every status.
51 rows, one per state and D.C.. Last updated . Rechecked against its sources every Monday.
Cite this dataset
BreakAway, Girls' High School Flag Football State Tracker, updated October 26, 2026, breakawaydata.com/girls-high-school-flag-football/
Women's College Flag Football Programs
Every US college with a varsity or club women's flag football program: school, level, association, conference, city and state, first season and sources, plus what each level allows for athletic scholarships.
439 rows, one per program. Last updated . Rechecked against its sources every week.
Cite this dataset
BreakAway, Women's College Flag Football Programs, updated October 16, 2026, breakawaydata.com/womens-college-flag-football/
The raceto 50.
State associations that have voted to sanction girls' high school flag football, by vote date. Hover a step for the states it added.
Hover or focus a point to see which states it added.
3 voted states have no sourced approval date yet and are not plotted.
College programs.Season by season.
Women's college flag football programs by level, from the first season on the list to today. Press play to watch the levels grow.
2026-27: 437 programs. NCAA Division I 17, NCAA Division II 47, NCAA Division III 73, NAIA 62, Junior college (NJCAA) 37, California community college (CCCAA) 21, Small colleges (USCAA) 10, Christian colleges (NCCAA) 2, Other varsity 1, Club (most play NIRSA) 167.
- Level allows athletic scholarships
- Club, not varsity
- Unconfirmed: listed by one source, not yet confirmed by the school. 49 are in the bars.
Counts programs on today's list from the season each one started, so a program that started and later stopped is not in the early seasons. 156 programs have no sourced first season yet and join at 2026-27, today.
| Level | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I (athletic scholarships allowed) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| NCAA Division II (athletic scholarships allowed) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 47 |
| NCAA Division III | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 34 | 73 |
| NAIA (athletic scholarships allowed) | 10 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 31 | 62 |
| Junior college (NJCAA) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 37 |
| California community college (CCCAA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 21 |
| Small colleges (USCAA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Christian colleges (NCCAA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Other varsity | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Club (most play NIRSA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 31 | 167 |
| Total | 10 | 12 | 19 | 24 | 56 | 144 | 437 |
Girls playing.Year by year.
| School year | Girls playing | Schools | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 15,716 | NFHS | |
| 2022-23 | 20,875 | NFHS | |
| 2023-24 | 42,955 | NFHS | |
| 2024-25 | 68,847 | 2,736 | NFHS |
| 2025-26 | 102,360 | 3,990 | NFHS |
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1200 by 630, rebuilt with the numbers on every deploy. Use them with the attribution line above.
How we build it.Every row, sourced.
High school sanctioning
Every Monday we recheck every row against its sources: the state association first, then the NFHS, then local reporting and NFL team announcements. A state only moves when a source says it moved. Where sources disagree, the note says how and the row is marked Unconfirmed until the association settles it.
- Sanctioned.
- The association runs the season and its state title.
- Approved, starts later.
- Voted yes, first season still ahead. In the count.
- Emerging.
- Recognized by the association, the step before sanctioning.
- Pilot or league play.
- Girls play in a pilot or league, outside the association.
- Not yet.
- No association action or school play found yet.
- Unconfirmed.
- Sources disagree, and the state's note says how.
College programs
A school is listed only when a source shows the program: its own athletics or club page first, then its conference, its association or NIRSA. The first season comes from the school's schedule archive or launch release. Varsity and club are listed apart, and an announced program is marked until it plays. We recheck the list and the rules every week.
- Varsity.
- The school's athletics department sponsors the team at an NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA or other association level. An announced program, whose first season is still ahead, is counted apart.
- Club.
- A student club team, most playing NIRSA's championship series or its club league. Never counted as varsity.
- Scholarship levels.
- Levels whose governing body allows athletic aid for the sport. A level that allows aid does not promise it; each program sets what it funds.
- Unconfirmed.
- Listed by one source, not yet confirmed by the school.
Miles to the nearest program
Great-circle (haversine) miles from each county's Census internal point to the nearest program's campus, weighted by the county's girls 15 to 17. Every girl in a county is placed at that point.
Girls are female, 15 to 17 years (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, B01001_E030). The ACS band nearest to high school age girls; 14-year-olds sit in the 10 to 14 band and are not counted.
Confirmed programs fielding a team this season, varsity or club. Unconfirmed clubs are left out. Scholarship programs: confirmed varsity programs at levels whose governing body allows athletic aid for the sport (D-I, D-II, NAIA).
Spot a row that is out of date, or need a figure we do not publish? Contact us with the source and we will check it on the next pass.
Go deeper
- Girls' high school flag football tracker →The map, the race to 50 and every state's row with its sources.
- Women's college flag football tracker →Every program on a map, by level, season by season.
- Recruiting guide →The timeline by grade and what each college level allows.
- Scholarships by level →The programs at levels that allow athletic aid, with each rule.
- Colleges adding flag football →This season's new programs and every announced one.
- Updates, week by week →Every new program, vote and change to both trackers, with an RSS feed.
Every game, on the record.
Statting is free in the BreakAway app. Every game builds a verified stat line on each athlete's profile.