Could flag football become the next sanctioned high school sport in North Carolina?

It’s possible.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association Board of Directors will discuss a proposal to sanction girls flag football during its winter board meeting in December.

Durham, Johnston, and Wake County schools, including the Cap 6, NAC 6, SWAC, and Greater Neuse River conferences, submitted the proposal to the board of directors. It will be discussed at the upcoming board meeting on Dec. 4-5.

The proposal is currently assigned to the NCHSAA Policy Committee. The committee will discuss sanctioning the sport at the meeting, but it has a few options. The committee could decide not to advance the proposal, it could decide to table the proposal for a later meeting, or it could send the proposal to the full board for consideration.

Flag football is a rapidly growing sport nationally, thanks in part to an effort by the NFL to grow the sport among female athletes. In North Carolina, the Carolina Panthers have been a driving force behind the rapid growth, providing money and resources for schools to start programs.

The National Federation of State High School Associations, the national governing body of high school sports of which the NCHSAA is a member, is set to release official rules for high school flag football next year.

Based on information collected from school districts, HighSchoolOT estimates 116 of the 443 member high schools plan to participate in flag football during the 2024-2025 school year, which meets the current threshold for the NCHSAA to consider sanctioning the sport.

“North Carolina’s advancement in women’s flag football aligns with a regional trend across NFHS Section 3, which includes states in the Southeastern United States, some bordering North Carolina. Of these, two bordering states—Georgia and Tennessee—have already sanctioned women’s flag football, with Florida making it three of the seven states in our region,” the proposal to the board says. “Sanctioning flag football would position North Carolina among these progressive states, providing our female athletes with equitable access to the sport and enhanced competitive opportunities.”

Durham, Johnston, and Wake county schools are among the districts fielding teams this year. The three districts account for about one third of the 116 schools participating this year.

According to the proposal, 54 of the 103 schools in the 4A classification offered the sport last year. This year that number has increased to 79.

There is also an effort to hold an unofficial state playoff for flag football this fall. The three school districts supporting the proposal before the board will participate in the playoff.

“The growth of women’s flag football in North Carolina high schools is undeniable. Sanctioning by the NCHSAA will support its continued expansion, foster equitable opportunities for female athletes, and provide a pathway to both statewide competition and collegiate athletics,” the proposal says.

In 2026, the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas will adopt women’s flag football as an official sport. This means four North Carolina colleges will offer more opportunities, including potential scholarship opportunities, for high school female athletes — Barton, Chowan, Lees-McRae, and Mount Olive.

There are currently 24 NAIA and seven NJCAA schools that already offer women’s flag football program.

NCHSAA rules require 50% of a single classification or 25% of the entire membership to field a team in order to consider sanctioning a sport. Girls flag football will meet that threshold this year, however the NCHSAA also requires that threshold to be sustained for two years.

It is also likely that the rules for sanctioning a new sport will change as the NCHSAA realigns next year. The NCHSAA will expand to eight classifications instead of four, which means the current 25% threshold of a single classification may need to be adjusted.

The most recent sport sanctioned by the NCHSAA was girls wrestling, which held its first official state championships this past winter.

The NCHSAA Board of Directors will begin its winter meeting on Dec. 4, which is when the Policy Committee will discuss the proposal. If the board decides to vote on sanctioning flag football, the vote will take place on Dec. 5.