The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) voted on Tuesday to make girls flag football an officially-sanctioned Tennessee high school varsity sport beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.
The TSSAA voted unanimously in favor of Franklin High School’s proposal to make the sport a sanctioned sport. The TSSAA previously tabled the proposal during its December 2023 legislative council meeting.
An exciting day in TENnessee! @TSSAA makes Tennessee the 10th state to officially sanction Girls Flag Football as a high school varsity sport via a unanimous decision! 🏈 pic.twitter.com/9eA9ai6BQF
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) April 9, 2024
On Tuesday, the TSSAA Legislative Council sanctioned girls flag football as an “emerging sport,” meaning 15 percent of TSSAA members are either currently participating in the sport or committed to participation once it is officially sanctioned.
The TSSAA’s unanimous approval of the sport officially makes Tennessee the 10th state in the nation to sanction girls flag football.
The Tennessee Titans, which has worked to expand the sport across the state, said it is “committed to the continued growth and development of the game of football at all levels by providing engaging programming, one-of-a-kind experiences and strategic support to programs across the state and region.”
“We are so grateful to TSSAA for today’s decision and their support of our girls flag football programs over the past several years,” Titans President and CEO Burke Nihill said in a statement. “Girls flag football has emerged as one of the most competitive and exciting sports offered at the high school level, and has already impacted the lives of many young athletes with the rise of collegiate opportunities within the sport. We look forward to seeing its reach grow across the state as it becomes an officially-sanctioned sport.”
In spring 2022, the Titans worked with the Williamson County Sports Conference to create the first interscholastic girls flag football league in the state. Leagues have since launched in Metro Nashville Schools and Clarksville-Montgomery Schools.
The NFL team said it expects to make an announcement on league expansion into East Tennessee in the coming days.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
