Girls Flag Football Official
OHSAA Elevates Girls Flag Football to Sanctioned Sport for 2026-27 Season
Key Points
The 2025 inaugural Ohio Girls High School Flag Football State Championship was held at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, with Badin defeating Willoughby South 40-16 to claim the title.
There were competing reports on the 2025 inaugural champion, with Macedonia Nordonia reportedly defeating Mount Notre Dame 20-19 in the state final, suggesting Nordonia won the 2025 title in at least one account.
The 2026 state championship was hosted at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton as a one-day final with eight schools qualifying, and Macedonia Nordonia defeated Mount Notre Dame 20-19 in the state final.
Southwest Ohio accounted for 41 of the 162 Ohio high schools sponsoring girls flag football in the spring season, underscoring regional growth within the state.
Elizabeth Blackburn, Bengals Vice President, described the milestone as historic and credited the collaboration among the OHSAA, athletic directors, players, coaches and referees in advancing girls flag football.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association unanimously voted on June 24, 2026, to make girls flag football its 29th sanctioned sport, effective for the 2026-27 school year. OHSAA The decision came after the sport grew from just 20 schools in 2021 to 162 high schools across Ohio by spring 2026.
Ohio now has 15 girls sports and 14 boys sports under state sanction. wnewsj.com The move makes Ohio the 23rd state to officially recognize girls flag football — a sport set to debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. whio.com
From 20 Schools to a State Sport in Five Years
Girls flag football in Ohio started in 2021 when the Cleveland Browns launched the first league in Northeast Ohio with six schools. mahoningmatters.com The Cincinnati Bengals joined the push in spring 2024, adding a pilot program in Southwest Ohio. By spring 2026, 162 high schools fielded teams — 121 in the Browns' region and 41 in the Bengals' region.
The NFL backed the sport with a $32 million national investment. us.headtopics.com OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute credited the league's partners directly, saying, "The Browns, Bengals and NFL put in so much work to promote the game and bring us to this moment."
Two Championships, One Clear Path to Sanctioning
Ohio held its first statewide girls flag football championship on May 18, 2025. Hamilton Badin defeated Willoughby South 40-16 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon to win that inaugural title. The Browns and Bengals jointly organized the event before OHSAA took over formal governance.
The first official OHSAA-sanctioned championship followed on May 16, 2026. Macedonia Nordonia defeated Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame 20-19 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. cleveland19.com Senior quarterback and safety Haydn Paul sealed the win with a game-ending interception. State Rep. Steve Demetriou later introduced House Resolution 451 to honor the Nordonia Knights for the historic achievement.
NFL Franchises and the Hall of Fame Drive the Sport
The Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame were central to Ohio's rapid growth. They funded equipment, uniforms, and stipends for new programs. The Hall of Fame's Tom Benson Stadium in Canton hosted the 2026 state final, giving the sport a high-profile stage.
Cincinnati Bengals Vice President Elizabeth Blackburn called the OHSAA vote "a historic milestone." She credited "the collaboration among the OHSAA, athletic directors, players, coaches and referees" for pushing the sport forward. wnewsj.com Nationally, 68,847 girls played high school flag football across 2,736 schools in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NFHS.
College Scholarships and the 2028 Olympics Loom Large
The sport's future looks even bigger beyond Ohio. In January 2026, the NCAA named women's flag football an "Emerging Sport for Women." That means colleges can now offer official varsity programs and athletic scholarships. us.headtopics.com Ohio joins 22 other states that have already sanctioned the sport at the high school level.
Flag football will also appear at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for the first time. whio.com One analyst predicted that "within five years, almost every school in the state of Ohio will have" a girls flag football program, pointing to its low costs and growing popularity. Coaches say the sport is drawing athletes who had no spring option before — filling a real gap in girls athletics.
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