CANTON, Ohio — Flag football is a sport that has experienced tremendous growth over the past several years, having been named a new Olympic sport for the upcoming 2028 games.
But despite all of the interest and success of the sport, and despite the loud and growing demand for girls' flag football to be recognized by the Ohio High School Athletic Association as a state-sanctioned sport, the extent of flag football for the state's youth was limited to club participation.
That is, until Thursday.
In a fitting setting, with the NFL FLAG Championships taking place over the weekend at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, OHSAA's executive director Doug Ute made the announcement during a press conference held at the Hall of Fame about the future of girls' flag football in the state.
Ute was joined in the press conference by NFL Vice President, Head of Flag Football Stephanie Kwok, as well as Hall of Fame offensive lineman Anthony Muñoz, Cincinnati Bengals director of strategy and engagement Elizabeth Blackburn, and Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
In May, Stefanski sounded off at his Keepers Foundation's Under the Lights youth football camp, calling for the state to make the move to sanction girls flag football, noting the importance of this state, in particular, acknowledging the sport that means so much to the area.
"You mentioned girls' flag football—that has to be a sanctioned sport in this state. It makes me crazy that we have the birthplace of football, down the road we got the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Football is pretty important in this state. It's important to boys and girls. It's not just a boys' sport, so we have to get that sanctioned as a sport in Ohio, and I think we're on our way to doing that,," Stefanski said. "But if we're going to be such an important bedrock of football in the state of Ohio, which I believe we are, we also have to sanction girls' flag football, so that it's a varsity sport in these high schools."
The Browns organization has been leading the charge to make girls' flag football a state-sanctioned sport for several years.
Hannah Lee, who manages youth sports for the Browns, has been among the most active advocates. Starting as an intern with the Browns in 2021, Lee saw their girls' high school flag football program launch with six teams. Three years later, they were up to 51 teams and have grown even more since. The Browns have held flag tournaments at Huntington Bank Field and introduced girls to a wave of competition from around the state, fostering the growth of the game here in Ohio.
Here in Northeast Ohio, the growth of the game has flourished under the support of the Browns' youth sports programming and the launch of the organization's flag football program.
Watch how the sport has expanded locally:
RELATED: Amid growth, Cleveland Browns lead charge to see flag football become state-sanctioned sport in Ohio
Without girls' flag sport being state-sanctioned, it has only been able to function at a club level. Athletes have been able to sign up and compete against other clubs, but their sport hasn't been recognized under the high school umbrella of programming or funding. While the Browns have their tournaments and the NFL has its championships, there has been no OHSAA-recognized state tournament to participate in or state titles to win for their schools.
In April 2024, Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II, who has since become the first-ever ambassador for the Browns Girls High School Flag Football program, shared his thoughts on how important the state title aspect was to the girls.
"It would mean the world. That's what you compete for is to play in a championship of some sort, especially around the state. I think if it does become state-wide, it would mean a lot for them," Newsome said at a girls' flag football camp he was helping coach at Berea-Midpark High School. "They come out here and practice when they don't have to. Girls were talking about how they got AP tests and things like that, but they took the time out of their day to come here and practice because they're passionate about the sport, so I think it would be great for them."
That will now become the reality with OHSAA announcing the change to make girls' flag football a state-sanctioned sport. Girls around Ohio will be able to join their school's flag football team, compete against other teams, and earn spots in the state tournament, giving them a chance to call themselves state champions for the first time.
With OHSAA's decision, Ohio has become the 17th state in the country to make girls' flag football a state-sanctioned sport, joining Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington to have made it a varsity sport.
The move to sanction girls' flag football comes three years after OHSAA officially sanctioned two other sports, girls' wrestling and boys' volleyball.
