Rhode Island Sanctions Flag Football
The Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) announced it has sanctioned girls flag football as a varsity sport for the 2026-27 school year. The first sanctioned girls flag football championship will be played in spring 2027.
Rhode Island is the 24th state to sanction girls flag football. In 2026, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C have joined the list of high school associations to sanction the sport. Ohio also fully sanctioned flag football at the end of June. The full list of 24 states includes:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, and Washington, D.C. Another 16 states have a pilot program.
The New England Patriots have helped build the flag football landscape in the Northeast, within the NFL's vision for the sport. The NFL FLAG Championships saw record viewership in 2026, with the Girls High School Championship drawing over 1.1 million viewers.
Randy Phillips, head coach at Roxbury Community College in neighboring Massachusetts, has helped grow the sport in the state. Phillips has expanded access, built structure, and created long-term opportunities in Rhode Island since early 2024. In a statement to Collegiate Flag Football, Phillips said:
"I helped launch and grow high school flag across the state by developing leagues, running clinics, and establishing pathways that connect athletes from every community. As participation and visibility continue to rise, Rhode Island is now positioned to become a true pipeline for college programs - strengthening recruiting and accelerating the growth of women's flag football across the Northeast. It highlights the impact of early, intentional investment in girls' sports and the momentum it can create for an entire region."
The NFL's efforts have led to over 400 club and varsity teams at the collegiate level. The NAIA will host its first women's flag football championship in spring 2027, followed by the NJCAA in 2028. The NCAA is also expected to have its championship in 2028, with a vote scheduled for January 2027. The NCAA has already approved funding for its first National Collegiate Championship.
The pipeline is set to continue into the professional ranks. TMRW Sports will operate the men's and women's professional flag football league, which is set to launch before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Flag football will debut during the first week of the 2028 Olympics, with six of the 12 national teams determined by the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships this past weekend.