Tennessee's TSSAA unanimously approves girls flag football as a state championship sport

The Volunteer State's governing body for high school sports made the decision on Tuesday

Ravenwood's Reese Mackenzie (17) carries the ball as Stone Memorial's Hope “Lily” Hinch (24) goes after her flag during the Championship game in the TSSAA girls flag football state invitational, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at Murfreesboro's Richard Siegel Park. / HELEN COMER/The Daily News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Girls flag football, arguably the nation's fastest growing sport on the high school level, just added another state for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) on Tuesday unanimously approved girls flag football as a state championship sport. Before Tuesday's vote, girls flag football was just recognized as an emerging sport in Tennessee.

Now, girls flag football will have its own state championships come next spring as the TSSAA's decision comes on the heels of a state invitational that was held by the association, which gave the feel of a championship environment, according to a report by Nashville Tennessean's Tyler Palmateer.

TSSAA Board of Control unanimously approves Girls Flag Football as a TSSAA State Championship Sport.

— 5Star Preps (@5StarPreps) June 10, 2025

Tennessee is one of 16 states overall (Washington & Louisiana approved it earlier this spring) to have sanctioned the nation's fastest-growing sport when it pertains to high school athletics.

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STATES THAT HAVE SANCTIONED HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL (16)

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Louisiana

Mississippi

Nevada

New York

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Washington

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The TSSAA's Board of Control also decided that girls flag football will take place during the spring, but no set date has been set for the state championships. According to Palmateer's report, 127 schools had a flag football program this past 2024-2025 season, with some teams reporting over 75 players attending tryouts.

Neighboring southern states like Georgia and Florida, which was the first state to sanction girls flag football as a high school sport, helped in navigating a path towards eventually making it officially a state championship sport.

"Watching a couple of neighbors in Alabama and Georgia and talking with (Titans vice president of cause marketing) Josh Corey, with his experience down in Florida, we had a pretty good idea of what's happened in other states," TSSAA executive director Mark Reeves said via Palmateer's report. "Particularly those (states) that have NFL markets that can help provide that seed money and be a catalyst and advocate for it. In those other states, it exploded pretty quickly. It's pretty neat to see that come to fruition."

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi