PIAA adopts girls flag football as sanctioned high school sport statewide

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 | 5:29 PM

Flag football is officially a sanctioned sport for Pennsylvania high school girls, meaning the WPIAL and PIAA soon will be crowning champions.

The PIAA board voted Wednesday to add flag football to its growing catalog of sports. This vote was the third and final needed to complete the PIAA’s emerging sport program, which last year approved girls wrestling.

“We’re thrilled that we can offer another opportunity for girls to participate (in) interscholastic athletics,” PIAA president Frank Majikes said in a statement.

The state’s two NFL franchises have bolstered the growth of girls flag football. The PIAA board deemed it an emerging sport in July 2023, and in April it reached the 100-school threshold required for sanctioning.

The next step is adopting a rulebook. Majikes noted that the National Federation of State High School Associations will initiate development of one in January 2025.

“This will allow us to develop our process to host a championship,” he said. “The structural changes to the sport won’t begin until the 2025-26 school year. The PIAA thanks the National Football League, Eagles and Steelers for their support and efforts for girls’ flag football.”

North Allegheny coach Michelle Ruiz, one of the early advocates in the grassroots effort, said she was thrilled by how quickly the sport has grown. Ruiz was optimistic that gaining sanctioned status would lead more schools and athletes to join the sport.

“I’ve been on the phone for the last hour answering texts from everyone who is just so excited,” Ruiz said. “They were all celebrating.”

She said the sport’s rapid growth over a three-year span proved that the interest was there.

For now, most schools with teams are in the Pittsburgh or Philadelphia areas. The Steelers’ league started in 2022 with six schools and has grown to 36. The league championship last spring was held at Carnegie Mellon.

“We are excited to see such a groundbreaking moment for the future of girls’ flag football,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said. “It has been great working with the Eagles to accomplish a successful ruling that will now give young girls the chance to compete at a state level. We look forward to seeing how girls’ flag football continues to grow in Pennsylvania and worldwide.”

The Philadelphia Eagles’ league had 65 schools last season, up from 16 in its first year. Jeffrey Lurie, chairman and CEO of the Eagles, said its league organizers had a five-year plan to reach sanctioned status and got there two years early.

“The sport’s organic growth is a credit to the participants, administrators, coaches, officials and parents who helped raise the profile of girls’ flag football,” Lurie said. “We thank the PIAA for their leadership in recognizing a sport that has the power to unlock new pathways and opportunities for girls of all ages in every community.”

Much remains to be ironed out before the 2026 season arrives. The Steelers and Eagles leagues have used different rules. When players from the leagues met in May at the Big 33 Football Classic, they had to reach agreements on some major differences, including whether to punt and if the quarterbacks could run with the ball.

“That’s why I don’t mind that it’s going to take another year,” Ruiz said. “We need to figure out the rules.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.