New Jersey Girls Flag Football Sanctioned Sport: NJSIAA Sets Spring 2027 State Championship
✨ Coach, Parents & Player Tips
Coach’s Clipboard: Send your slot receiver on a quick pre-snap motion behind the QB to yank a defender out of position, then fire a slant into the vacated space—nothing beats that “ninja ambush” look on their faces when it works.
Postgame Parents: I know you’re juggling snacks and email pings, so clip a spare sock to your waistband and challenge your flag footballer to chase you in proper 45° pursuit angles before they snatch that “flag.” Mastering those cut-off angles means less breath-holding on the sideline and more proud high-fives (and giggles) at home.
Players Snap: On a quick screen, jab forward like you’re blitzing, then slip back and fire it—your defender will be stuck in sack mode while your guy scoots for easy yards.
🔎 Feature Story
🏅 Girls flag football inches closer to becoming a sanctioned sport, more from NJSIAA meeting
Girls flag football is poised to become New Jersey’s newest sanctioned high school sport after the NJSIAA Executive Committee approved A and B divisions with North and South sections and set the first official state championship tournament for spring 2027. If legislation passes in May, female athletes can continue dual-sport participation through spring 2026, alleviating scheduling issues and broadening athletic options for girls.
“My concern is we only offer four sports in the spring for girls and we offer eight in the fall and nine in the winter, so there is a need there,” Maguire said.
🌍 Regional Roundup
Pennsylvania (Greenville): Thiel College will field its first women’s flag football team in spring 2026, joining other Presidents’ Athletic Conference schools as part of a broader push to expand the sport at both collegiate and high school levels.
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Indiana (Indianapolis): Girls’ high school flag football in Indiana has grown nearly tenfold in two years and is launching its first postseason under the IHSAA’s emerging sport designation, backed by a $1 million investment from the Indianapolis Colts aimed at reaching 100 schools.
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Nampa, Idaho: The Idaho Girls Flag Football Association, Seattle Seahawks and Nampa School District have partnered to expand girls’ participation in flag football, though funding and staffing challenges are slowing efforts to gain official high school sanctioning.
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Nampa, Idaho: The Idaho Girls Flag Football Association is hosting its first-ever high school tournament at Skyview High School on Oct. 25, leveraging Seahawks support to build grassroots momentum ahead of the sport’s Olympic debut.
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⭐ Player Spotlight
Heavynne Beard – Lawrence North flag football player. Growing up playing on boys’ teams, Beard now helps lead her squad into Indiana’s first girls’ high school flag football postseason, all while setting her sights on collegiate competition.
“I heard that the South Carolina Gamecocks have a flag football team at their college, and I’m really excited because that’s actually the college I want to go to,” said Beard.
📈 Flag Growth Focus
🔥 Jets Expand Girls’ Flag Program
The New York Jets have added a 14U girls travel team to their Jets Flag Elite program for 2025–26, covering coaching, equipment, travel and tournament fees through a presenting sponsorship with Fathead. Head coaches Mickey McDermott and Jesse Marrow will lead both squads in regional play, positioning the franchise as a model for elevating girls’ flag football on the road to the 2028 Olympics.
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🔥 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Adds Women’s Flag
Thiel College will launch a varsity women’s flag football team in spring 2026, joining over 65 NCAA institutions sponsoring the sport and strengthening the case for Emerging Sports for Women status. Athletic Director Isaac Collins has begun a national search for the program’s first coach, underscoring flag football’s rapid ascent in college athletics and its pathway toward full NCAA recognition.
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🔥 Vikings Build Flag Football in UK & Ireland
Leveraging their International Series stops in Dublin and London, the Minnesota Vikings hosted youth clinics with over 200 schoolchildren across six schools and backed a six-week community league in Newcastle to foster sustainable flag football infrastructure overseas. Partnering with Sport Ireland and the British American Football Association, these initiatives set a blueprint for fan engagement and grassroots growth ahead of the sport’s 2028 Olympic debut.
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⚡ FlagSnap Daily Blitz
The New York Jets expanded their Jets Flag Elite program for 2025–26 by adding a 14U girls travel team and securing Fathead as presenting sponsor to fund coaching, equipment, travel, and tournament fees.
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Thiel College will field its first women’s flag football team in spring 2026, joining fellow PAC schools and supporting the NCAA’s push to recognize the sport as an Emerging Sport for Women.
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The Minnesota Vikings staged youth flag football clinics for over 200 students in Dublin and London during their International Series stops and backed a new six-week flag league across ten Newcastle schools.
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The NFL announced the Tom Brady–led Fanatics Flag Football Classic will take place March 21, 2026, in Riyadh with former stars and current players in a round-robin showcase ahead of the sport’s 2028 Olympic debut.
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Etiwanda capped an unbeaten Baseline League run with a last-second “Oiler” hook-and-lateral touchdown to defeat Upland 19-18 and lock in a likely Division 1 playoff seed.
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NBC Sports visited Prattville High School to film a flag football segment that will air during Super Bowl pregame coverage, spotlighting the grassroots game.
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The CIF Southern Section will release its girls flag football playoff pairings Friday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m., with top local contenders like Bonita, San Dimas and Bishop Amat penciled into Divisions 2–6 opening Oct. 21–22.
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Steamboat Springs High School earned its first girls flag football playoff victory by rolling past Regis Groff 32–6 and will face No. 3 Pomona Saturday in the 4A second round.
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Nike is hosting Flag Football Camps at 24 U.S. locations offering position-specific drills, flag competitions and concussion-safety education for youth players.
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Colorado’s CHSAA flagged two first-round upsets as Littleton beat Ponderosa 13–7 and Dakota Ridge edged Palmer 12–8, with second-round Opening Weekend set for Oct. 18–19 at NAAC, Jeffco and Trailblazer Stadiums.
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🏁 Final Whistle
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”
— Michael Jordan
