17/07/2025
The state of Ohio has taken an important step in recognizing high school athletes who play girls flag football.
Today, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced they have sanctioned girls high school flag football, making Ohio the 17th state to sanction the sport across the United States. The Cleveland Browns implemented a pilot girls high school flag football league in the spring of 2022 alongside Northeast Ohio Flag Football, beginning with nine teams, as well as created the first high school girls flag football division in Ohio in 2022. Their success in the pilot season sparked schools to reach out to the Browns about their inclusion in the program.
The program continued to grow, with 30 teams in 2023, 51 teams in 2024 and 88 teams in 2025 across Northeast Ohio. As the division grew, Browns youth football manager Hannah Lee continued to reach out to schools to garner interest, as well as onboard teams into the program. The girls high school flag football league also continued to grow across Ohio. Not only did the Browns increase teams to a total of 51 teams across 30 high schools in 2024, but they also expanded their reach into Summit and Stark counties, with the goal of pursuing statewide growth. That same year, the Bengals launched their pilot season for girls high school flag football in Cincinnati with six local high schools.
With the demonstrated statewide growth, conversations continued with OHSAA about sanctioning, and their involvement in the program to understand the scope and scale grew. As an officially sanctioned sport, OHSAA will continue to use the blueprint laid out by the Browns from the previous five years and take steps to grow the game, providing athletes with the opportunity to play girls flag football at the varsity level.
