Girls' High School Flag Football: Which States Sanction It
25 state associations, including D.C., have voted to sanction girls' high school flag football as of October 26, 2026.
24 are playing sanctioned seasons now; Kentucky starts 2027-28. Four more states treat it as an emerging sport, and girls are playing in pilot or league programs in 15 others. Find your state below. Every status links to its source.
25state associations, including D.C., have voted to sanction it24 playing sanctioned seasons now · Kentucky starts 2027-28
Checked every Monday. Last checked . See what changed.
State by state.Every vote, sourced.
Tap a state for its sources. Press play to watch the count build.
25state associations voted to sanction, including D.C.
1 approved to start later · 4 emerging · as of
- 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.
Every state, with sources
| State | Status | Governing body | Approved | First season | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Sanctioned | AHSAA | 2024-25 | ||
| Alaska | Sanctioned | ASAA | 2024-25 | ||
| Arizona | Sanctioned | AIA | 2023-24 | ||
| Arkansas | Not yet | AAA | Pending | ||
| California | Sanctioned | CIF | 2023-24 | ||
| Colorado | Sanctioned | CHSAA | 2024-25 | ||
| Connecticut | Sanctioned | CIAC | 2024-25 | ||
| Delaware | Pilot or league play | DIAA | |||
| District of Columbia | Sanctioned | DCSAA | 2026-27 | ||
| Florida | Sanctioned | FHSAA | 2002-03 | ||
| Georgia | Sanctioned | GHSA | 2020-21 | ||
| Hawaii | Sanctioned | HHSAA | 2024-25 | ||
| Idaho | Pilot or league play | IHSAA | |||
| Illinois | Sanctioned | IHSA | 2024-25 | ||
| Indiana | Emerging | IHSAA | |||
| Iowa | Pilot or league play | IGHSAU | |||
| Kansas | Sanctioned | KSHSAA | 2026-27 | ||
| Kentucky | Approved, starts later | KHSAA | 2027-28 | ||
| Louisiana | Emerging | LHSAA | |||
| Maine | Not yet | MPA | |||
| Maryland | Sanctioned | MPSSAA | 2026-27 | ||
| Massachusetts | Pilot or league play | MIAA | |||
| Michigan | Pilot or league play | MHSAA | |||
| Minnesota | Pilot or league play | MSHSL | |||
| Mississippi | Sanctioned | MHSAA | 2024-25 | ||
| Missouri | Emerging | MSHSAA | |||
| Montana | Emerging | MHSA | |||
| Nebraska | Not yet | NSAA | |||
| Nevada | Sanctioned | NIAA | 2016-17 | ||
| New Hampshire | Not yet | NHIAA | Pending | ||
| New Jersey | Sanctioned | NJSIAA | 2026-27 | ||
| New Mexico | Pilot or league play | NMAA | |||
| New York | Sanctioned | NYSPHSAA | 2023-24 | ||
| North Carolina | Sanctioned | NCHSAA | 2026-27 | ||
| North Dakota | Pilot or league play | NDHSAA | |||
| Ohio | Sanctioned | OHSAA | 2025-26 | ||
| Oklahoma | Pilot or league play | OSSAA | |||
| Oregon | Sanctioned | OSAA | 2026-27 | ||
| Pennsylvania | Sanctioned | PIAA | 2025-26 | ||
| Rhode Island | Sanctioned | RIIL | 2026-27 | ||
| South Carolina | Pilot or league play | SCHSL | |||
| South Dakota | Pilot or league play | SDHSAA | |||
| Tennessee | Sanctioned | TSSAA | 2025-26 | ||
| Texas | Pilot or league play | UIL | |||
| Utah | Pilot or league play | UHSAA | |||
| Vermont | Not yet | VPA | |||
| Virginia | Pilot or league play | VHSL | |||
| Washington | Sanctioned | WIAA | 2025-26 | ||
| West Virginia | Not yet | WVSSAC | |||
| Wisconsin | Pilot or league play | WIAA | |||
| Wyoming | Not yet | WHSAA | Pending |
How we build it
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.
Spot a row that is out of date? Send us the source and we will check it on the next pass.
Use this data
Free to use, share and adapt under CC BY 4.0. Credit BreakAway and link to this page.
Cite this tracker
BreakAway, Girls' High School Flag Football State Tracker, updated October 26, 2026, breakawaydata.com/girls-high-school-flag-football/
The raceto 50.
24of 50 states voted yes, plus D.C.
Florida went first, in 2002-03, and for most of two decades it had almost no company. Then it took off: 21 associations have voted to sanction it since 2022, 8 of them in 2026 alone.
The players got there first. The NFHS counted 15,716 girls in 2021-22 and 102,360 in 2025-26, at 3,990 schools. That is 6.5 times as many in four seasons, and 48.7% more than the year before.
The newest is Oregon, on October 12, 2026. 24 of 50 states down.
102,360girls played in 2025-263,990schoolsSource: NFHS participation survey
Hover or focus a point to see which states it added.
3 voted states have no sourced approval date yet and are not plotted.
No team yet?Start one.
Six steps from an interest list to a first season. They work whatever your state's status: sanctioned, emerging or not yet.
Build the interest list
Names before meetings. Girls who want to play, by grade, plus two or three parents ready to help. A real list is the first thing an athletic director asks for.
Take it to your athletic director
Bring the list and your state's row from the map. In a sanctioned state, ask how to join the association's season. Anywhere else, ask about a club team or a local pilot league.
Find your state →Line up funding & gear
Check your state's row for NFL team support: several teams back high school programs through pilots and grants. Your booster club covers the rest: flag belts, jerseys, footballs.
Find your coaches
A head coach and at least one assistant. Often a teacher who coached youth flag and a parent who knows the game. Learn your state's rulebook together, because rules vary by state.
Set the season & schedule
Seasons run in the fall, winter or spring, depending on the state. A sanctioned state sets the calendar; in a pilot, the league does. Plan around the other sports your athletes play.
Stat every game from day one
One parent with a phone can stat a whole game in the BreakAway app, free. Every girl gets a stat card after every game, and the season record builds itself.
How to stat a flag football game →
The home of flag.See it in action.
Varsity now.College next.
A state title is not the finish line. On January 16, 2026, the NCAA added women's flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program, across Divisions I, II and III. The NAIA approved it as a championship sport starting in 2026-27, with its first national championship in spring 2027. The women's college flag football tracker lists every program fielding a team.
And the top of the ladder is real: flag football was added to the LA28 Olympic Games on October 16, 2023.
College coaches are already scouting on BreakAway. Every game a high school program stats builds the record they read: season totals, a verified stat line, and a profile the athlete controls.
9 in 10 high school girls live within 100 miles of a college team; 7 in 10 within 100 miles of a scholarship program.
Miles as the crow flies from each county's Census center point to the nearest campus, weighted by the girls 15 to 17 who live there (US Census ACS, the age band closest to high school). College program: 388 confirmed varsity and club programs; unconfirmed clubs are left out, and 2 without a known campus location are skipped. Scholarship program: confirmed varsity programs at levels whose governing body allows athletic aid for the sport (D-I, D-II, NAIA), 126 today. Sources: US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files: counties (internal point latitude and longitude); US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B01001 (Sex by Age): female, 15 to 17 years.
Your questions.Straight answers.
25 state associations, including D.C., have voted to sanction girls' high school flag football as of October 26, 2026: 24 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. 24 are playing sanctioned seasons now; Kentucky starts 2027-28. A vote counts the day it passes, even when the first season is a year out. We recheck every state against its sources every Monday.
As of October 26, 2026, these 24 are playing sanctioned seasons: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington. Kentucky has also voted to sanction it and starts in 2027-28, which makes 25. Connecticut is marked Unconfirmed while the sources disagree.
Find your state on the map or in the table on this page. Sanctioned means the state association runs it as an official high school sport. Approved means the vote passed and the first season is still ahead. Emerging, pilot or league play means girls are playing but the association has not sanctioned it yet. Every row names the governing body and links its sources.
Sanctioned means the state high school association governs girls' flag football as an official sport and runs its championships. Emerging means the association recognizes it on the path to sanctioning, often with a number of schools to reach first. A pilot or league, often backed by an NFL team, can play a full season and crown a champion while sitting outside the association. So only a sanctioned title is an official state championship.
Because sources count differently. Some include D.C. and some do not, some count a state on the day it votes and others only once its first season starts, and some count pilots or championship events. Our headline counts every state association that has voted to sanction it, D.C. included (25), then splits out the 24 playing sanctioned seasons now. Rows where sources disagree are marked Unconfirmed.
Yes. The DCSAA sanctioned girls' flag football on April 26, 2026, so the headline is 25 state associations: 24 states plus D.C. The race to 50 counts states only, which is why that number is 24. Its first official state title is scheduled for spring 2027.
Florida was first: the FHSAA recognized girls' flag football ahead of the 2002-03 season. For most of two decades it had almost no company. Then the sport took off: 21 associations have voted to sanction it since 2022, 8 of them in 2026.
It is one of the fastest-growing. The NFHS counted 102,360 girls playing in 2025-26 at 3,990 schools, up 48.7% from 68,847 the year before and 6.5 times the 15,716 who played in 2021-22. In 2025-26 it made the NFHS list of the top 10 girls' sports for the first time.
It depends on your state. Flag football is played in several formats, 5v5 and 7v7 among them, and each state association chooses its own rules and how many players are on the field. The NFHS announced on February 13, 2025 that it would write national high school playing rules for flag football. Ask your association which rulebook it uses.
No tackling. A defender stops the ball carrier by pulling a flag from her belt, called a flag pull, and that ends the play. How much incidental contact is allowed, and whether any blocking is legal, depends on the rulebook your state uses.
It depends on the state. Of the 24 sanctioned associations, 12 play in the spring, 10 in the fall and 2 in the winter. Each state's row on the map lists its season, and pilot leagues set their own calendars.
Yes, and the number of programs is growing fast. The NCAA added women's flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program on January 16, 2026, across Divisions I, II and III. The NAIA approved it as a championship sport starting in 2026-27. Scholarship offers vary by school and division, so ask each program directly.
Yes. Flag football was added to the LA28 Olympic Games, in Los Angeles in 2028, on October 16, 2023. The IOC added it alongside baseball and softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash. It has never been an Olympic sport before, so LA28 is its debut, and the path from a high school roster to college programs now runs all the way there.
Start with an interest list of girls who want to play, then take it to your athletic director along with your state's status from this page. Line up funding and gear, find a head coach and an assistant, set the season, and stat every game from the first one so the record builds itself.
One person with a phone can do it. In the BreakAway app you tap what happens on each play, and the app builds the box score, the season totals and a stat card for every athlete. Statting is free. The step-by-step guide and the BreakAway U video lessons walk through a whole game.
Every Monday. We recheck every state 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, every row links its sources, and rows where they disagree are marked Unconfirmed. Last checked October 26, 2026.
Yes. The tracker is free to use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). Credit BreakAway and link to this page, for example: BreakAway, Girls' High School Flag Football State Tracker, updated October 26, 2026, breakawaydata.com/girls-high-school-flag-football/. The CSV and JSON downloads are on this page.
Watch Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri and Montana: each recognizes girls' flag football as an emerging sport, the step before sanctioning. Kentucky has already voted yes and starts in 2027-28. Pilot or league programs are running in 15 more states, and each row's note says what is pending.
Every flag pull, on the record.
Stat her games free in the BreakAway app. Every girl gets a stat card after every game, and the season builds a record a college coach can read.