There’s news in flag football at both the college and high school levels, with the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics recommending that Divisions I, II, and III sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, and the NFHS Flag Football Rules Committee meeting to develop the first national rules for high school flag football.
With the NCAA committee voting to advance flag football, the recommendation will move through NCAA governance structures, and the three divisions will be able to sponsor legislation to move the sport forward. According to the NCAA, the divisions will review updated statistics, current sports sponsorship numbers, financial considerations, potential timelines and other relevant topics before making a final decision on whether to add flag football to the Emerging Sports program.
Once in the program, at least 40 schools must sponsor the sport at the varsity level, as well as meet minimum contest and participation requirements to be considered for championship status.
“The growth of flag football will be exciting to watch in the NCAA as women’s sports continue to generate more visibility and opportunities for female student-athletes to excel academically and athletically,” said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women’s Athletics and executive associate athletics director at Charlotte.
Flag football has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. At least 65 NCAA schools are sponsoring women's flag football at either the club or varsity levels this year, with more slated to join in 2026. Flag football also has been added as a sport for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Expanding participation in the sport at the high school level, the NFHS Flag Football Rules Committee recently met to develop the first national rules for high school flag football. The 2025-26 NFHS Flag Football Rules Book will be available in print and digital form in early May 2025 and will provide rules guidance for the nation’s fastest-growing emerging high school sport.
The committee was chaired by Tyler Cerimeli, director of athletics and officials with the Arizona Interscholastic Association, and directed by Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine, and editor of the NFHS Flag Football Rules Book. “The committee reviewed various other rules codes in place for flag football, including rules currently used in several state associations,” Colgate said. “After much discussion, while the committee decided to use some parts of other rules codes to develop the first NFHS Flag Football Rules Book, the group wanted to develop rules that best fit our game at the high school level.”
Two of the key elements of the first NFHS Flag Football Rules Book are the number of players on a team and the size of the field. The first book will feature rules governing the 7-on-7 player game, and will provide options for size of the field, one of which will be a regulation 11-player high school football field.
“The committee feels strongly that 7-on-7 is the most appropriate starting point for high school flag football, while acknowledging the potential for 5-on-5 modifications to be considered in the future,” Cerimeli said. “Flag football is seeing tremendous and rapid growth across the country. The committee has created a rules book that we believe will foster that growth and is reflective of the specific needs of high school flag football.”
While the NFHS Flag Football Rules Book is being written for both boys and girls competition, the growth of the girls game the past several years drove the urgency for national playing rules.
Currently, 14 state associations have sanctioned girls flag football, another state is voting on sanctioning in April and 18 states are involved in independent/pilot programs at some level.
And the number of participants in girls flag football more than doubled from 2022-23 to 2023-24. A total of 42,955 girls participated in flag football in 2023-24 compared to 20,875 the previous year – a 105 percent increase.
“The NFHS is excited about this new sports opportunity – particularly for girls,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the NFHS. “Flag is a sport of inclusivity. It can be played in any season (weather dependent), is fast-paced and offers an opportunity for young people to play and others to coach or officiate in the exciting sport of football.
“The popularity of flag football – for boys and girls – has been growing at the youth levels for the past 10 years. In 2023, about 500,000 girls ages 6 to 17 played flag football—a 63% increase since 2019. At a higher level of competition, more universities are beginning to offer flag football for girls, which will certainly enhance the appeal for girls playing the sport at the high school level. And internationally, the sport received a huge boost with the addition of flag football as an Olympic sport for men and women at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“The NFHS looks forward to being involved with the continued growth of flag football in schools nationwide, particularly now with playing rules specifically for the high school game, as more opportunities for participation unfold in all 50 states,” Niehoff concluded.