(FOX 9) – Despite what advocates and athletes name a rising quantity of their ranks, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Board of Directors has opted to desk the choice for an elevation to an ‘emerging status’ for the sport of girls flag football.
Girls flag football status
What we all know:
During its assembly on Tuesday, the board of administrators voted to desk a proposal “to provide additional time to gather input from the member schools.”
An announcement by MSHSL says that, “discussions with Vikings representatives and the current Girls Flag Football advisory will continue to further identify the initial model and step-by-step process that could be used to move to full sanction.”
At the identical assembly, the League’s Board of Directors accredited eSports and girls crew wrestling.
The subsequent anticipated motion by the Board is more likely to be at its October 2026 gathering.
The backstory:
The proposal comes from the Minnesota High School Girls Flag Advisory Council, which incorporates school directors, athletic administrators and coaches from across the state.
If accredited, the MSHSL would take over key points of the sport’s governance, comparable to pupil eligibility, registration, insurance coverage and assigning a league liaison.
The transfer would mark a major step towards a fully-sanctioned, interscholastic competitors for girls flag football in Minnesota.
According to MSHSL stats, within the 2025 season, there have been 51 groups and 1,786 members within the sport. During the 2026 season, there are anticipated to be 104 registered groups.
Supporters say the expansion displays a nationwide development, and declare girls flag football to be the presently fastest-growing excessive school sport within the nation.
Vikings spend money on flag football
Big image view:
Since 2022, the Minnesota Vikings have invested greater than $2 million to assist develop girls flag football and take away boundaries to participation.
In 2025, the Vikings helped launch Minnesota’s first excessive school girls flag football league with 51 faculties, and partnered with seven NCAA establishments to create the area’s first collegiate girls’s flag league.
The sport is now provided in 22 states and Washington D.C., and Minnesota’s league is increasing into neighboring states like Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The Source: Information offered by the MSHSL and former FOX 9 reporting.