Key Takeaways
- Maryland’s MPSSAA approves girls flag football as the state’s 26th championship sport, with state title competition now official.
- High school participation in Maryland grew from 10 schools in 2023-24 to 91 in 2025-26, a roughly ninefold increase in two years.
- Kansas sanctioned the sport earlier the same day, bringing the national total to 19 states recognizing girls flag football at the championship level.
- The Baltimore Ravens launched a girls flag football pilot in 2023, partnering with MPSSAA and Under Armour on the multi-year rollout.
- Sanctioning unlocks standardized officiating, scheduling integration, and state title competition for participating Maryland schools.
Two-Year Participation Surge Drove the Decision
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association announced sanctioning on April 24, 2026, citing rapid school adoption as a core factor. The state went from 10 high schools fielding girls flag football teams in 2023-24 to 53 in 2024-25, then 91 in 2025-26. That trajectory tracks with national patterns showing girls flag football as one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the country.
MPSSAA executive director Andy Warner said in the release that the sport “demonstrates its inclusive reach to our female student-athletes” and called the announcement “a historic day” for the state’s high school athletics program.
Ravens and Under Armour Anchored the Pilot
The Baltimore Ravens launched a girls flag football pilot program in 2023, working alongside MPSSAA and Under Armour to build the participation base required for sanctioning consideration. Ravens president Sashi Brown said the announcement reflects momentum “since the launch of our girls’ flag football pilot program in 2023” and credited the partnership for creating “meaningful and equitable opportunities for girls to participate in football across the state.”
The Ravens-MPSSAA-Under Armour structure follows a model used in other NFL markets, where franchises fund equipment, coaching support, and pilot leagues that feed into eventual state association recognition.
Two States Sanction in a Single Day
Kansas approved girls flag football as a championship sport earlier on the same day, becoming the 18th state to do so. Maryland’s afternoon announcement made it the 19th. The double-sanctioning brings the full list to: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington.
The list covers most major NFL markets along with a mix of Sun Belt, Midwest, and Northeast states, expanding the geographic and demographic footprint of the sport at the high school level.
What Sanctioning Unlocks for Maryland Programs
Championship sanctioning brings standardized rules, sanctioned officiating, scheduling integration with the broader MPSSAA athletics calendar, and access to state title competition. For school administrators, it also clarifies budget, transportation, and Title IX participation accounting.
For brand and equipment partners, sanctioning typically accelerates uniform contracts and tournament sponsorship inventory. Under Armour, already embedded in the Maryland pilot, has an existing footprint to build from.
Pipeline Implications Heading Into 2027
With NCAA women’s flag football moving through the Emerging Sports for Women pathway and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics including the discipline, sanctioned high school programs feed directly into a maturing collegiate and international pipeline. Maryland’s 91-school base positions the state as a meaningful talent producer alongside Florida, Georgia, and California.
States with active NFL franchise pilot programs and rising high school participation rates remain the most likely candidates for the next wave of sanctioning announcements.
Source: Yahoo Sports, Andy Villamarzo, April 24, 2026
Image: WTOP
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