More Hoosier girls are playing flag football as pro league assembles
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Penn High School players pose after beating Lawrence North to become Indiana's first high school girls flag football state champions in October 2025. Photo: Courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts
Girls flag football is growing rapidly across the U.S. — and Indiana is contributing to its rise.
Why it matters: The sport's expansion across high school, college and pro levels creates new pathways for female athletes.
State of play: As the NFL invests in women's flag football ahead of its 2028 Olympic debut, local participation is surging.
- At the high school level, 17 states' athletic associations have sanctioned girls varsity flag championships, and Indiana is among the 22 states with pilot programs in play.
- Independent collegiate leagues like the NAIA and NJCAA already have flag football, and an NCAA committee recommended that Divisions I, II and III add flag football as an emerging women's sport in February.
- That same month, the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne — the first college or university in Indiana to offer women's flag football as a scholarship sport — played its inaugural game in Indy against Siena Heights University in a Colts-hosted event.
- Women's flag football is also a varsity sport at Indiana Wesleyan University and Purdue University Northwest.
Zoom in: The Indiana High School Athletic Association approved flag football as an emerging sport last May, and the Colts are leading the charge to get it fully sanctioned.
How it works: To become a sanctioned sport, 100 schools must compete while in emerging sport status.
Flashback: The Colts created the Colts Girls High School Flag Football League in 2023 with eight teams, and its expansion to 27 teams in 2024 made girls flag eligible for a vote as an emerging sport.
- A map published in summer 2025 shows that more than 70 Indiana high schools have joined the movement in just three seasons, including Indy schools like Crispus Attucks, Arsenal Tech and Shortridge.
- In October, Penn High School beat Lawrence North to become Indiana's first high school flag state champions.
- During February's NFL Combine, Lawrence North's flag and tackle teams had a chance to run through the same drills as NFL prospects.
Yes, but: When speaking at February's NFL Women's Forum downtown, Colts co-owner Kalen Jackson — a member of the NFL's flag football working group — broke the news that more than 100 girls flag teams have committed for next year.
- She also hinted that a positive vote on sanctions is expected in the near future.
What they're saying: "The best part about it is talking to the players and talking to their parents … they believe in their girls so much," said Jackson, who shared that her 8-year-old daughter is preparing to play flag this spring.
- "Giving them an opportunity to love our game in this way that boys have (had) the opportunity to forever is so, so cool."
The intrigue: The NFL announced last week its launching a men's and women's flag football league backed by all 32 teams, TMRW Sports and investors.
- The league's structure, rules, style of play and launch date are still in the works, but more details will be released over the next couple of years, ESPN reported.
Go deeper: Why the road to more women in the NFL starts in Indianapolis