Oregon Sanctions Varsity Flag Football
The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) voted to make girls flag football a sanctioned sport for the 2026-27 school year. Oregon plays flag football in the spring, and the first sanctioned flag football championship is set for spring 2027. Flag football was classified as an emerging activity in the last two seasons. Dates for the upcoming season will be released later.
The NFL's Seattle Seahawks provided support to high schools across Oregon to boost the sport, leading to its sanctioning. 57 varsity teams competed during the spring 2026 season, while the OSAA required more than 50 teams to compete before a sanctioning vote could occur. In June, the Seahawks hosted a Best of the PNW Tournament, which was won by the Oregon state champions, Tualatin.
Oregon becomes the 25th state to sanction girls flag football at the high school level, and the 7th in 2026. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, and Washington, D.C. Another 15 states have pilot programs or are closing in on sanctioning the sport.
Flag football participation ballooned last year, with more than 100,000 girls competing during the 2025-26 school year. The NFL FLAG Championships witnessed viewership records, as more than 1.1 million people tuned in to the Girls High School Championship.
At the college level, nearly 300 varsity teams will compete in the 2026-27 academic year across all collegiate governing bodies. The NAIA and NJCAA have already voted to add women's flag football as a championship sport. The NCAA is likely to do the same in January 2027.
Two Oregon colleges offer women's flag football. The University of Oregon has a student-run club team, which will begin competing in the 2026-27 academic year. George Fox University will add a club team for the 2027-28 academic year, compete at the club level for two seasons, and then elevate to varsity status for the 2029-30 academic year.