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The committee's recommendation Wednesday gives
all three divisions an opportunity to sponsor legislation that
would move the fast-growing sport through NCAA governance
structures.
A sport must have a minimum of 40 schools sponsoring the sport
at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participation
requirements to be considered for championship status.
At least 65 NCAA schools are sponsoring women’s flag football at
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.
The NAIA launched women's flag football in 2020. The NAIA is the
governing body of sports at more than 200 mostly private schools
and has sponsored championships in the sport since 2021.
There are 14 states that have sanctioned girls flag football as
a high school varsity sport. It was the 12th most popular girls
sport in 2023-24 with 42,955 participants, according to the
National Federation of High Schools, and almost a half million
girls ages 6 to 17 played flag football in 2023, according to
NFL FLAG.
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