AUSTIN, Texas — A local school district and a major professional football program are teaming up to get more girls on the gridiron.
Austin ISD announced Wednesday that it has formed a girls’ flag football league with support from the Dallas Cowboys.
Each Austin ISD high school will form a team to participate in the league. The district said over the last nine months, it has worked with the Cowboys organization to form varsity-level, 7-on-7 programs that will begin competitive play this spring.
Austin ISD is one of nearly a dozen districts partnering with the Cowboys, and a championship tournament is set to take place in May at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
According to Austin ISD, each school district participating in the Dallas Cowboys High School Girls Flag Football Regional Leagues received grant funding to help with coaching stipends and education, start-up costs, uniforms, equipment packages from USA Football and general support from NFL FLAG.
Other girls’ flag football programs in Central Texas
KUT recently reported that the Houston Texans plan to expand their girls’ flag football program to Round Rock and Pflugerville ISDs.
Teams confirmed to participate in that league include Round Rock, Westwood, McNeil, Connally, Hendrickson, Pflugerville and Weiss high schools.
Who are Texas Fury?
Central Texas currently has an all-girls flag football select travel team called Texas Fury. The team, which was founded in 2017 by Jason and Amberly Klam, is an NFL FLAG-sanctioned league.
Texas Fury teams have won a number of championships, most recently becoming 2024 17UG NFL Flag Champions and 2024 Women’s NFL Flag Champions.
The future of flag football in the U.S.
KUT’s article states that according to the NFL, only 14 states currently recognize flag football as an official high school varsity sport.
But the sport is getting more and more attention at higher levels.
Just this month, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics recommended that Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.
At least 65 NCAA schools are already sponsoring women’s flag football at the club or varsity levels this year, with more slated to join next year.
Flag football has also been added as a sport for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.