Flag football is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing sports in the country and the state thanks to support by the Minnesota Vikings.
This is true, especially at the high school level, according to Joe Rush, Director of youth flag football with the Vikings.
"Seeing a jump really from last year to our four team high school pilot league, jumping all the way up to 51 teams for this spring," explains Rush. "That's just tremendous growth."
The demographic that has benefitted the most?
"The national data is showing that just north of about 50% of girls and women that are signing up for this sport, in particular, are not involved in any other sports," he adds. "So we're truly tapping into a new group of people."
Flag football participation by girls has continued to spike across the country, with the sport’s inclusion in the Summer Olympics lineup for Los Angeles in 2028 serving as the most recent bump.
"Obviously from the Viking side, we'd be really excited to help pioneer that in whatever way, shape or form it looks like," says Rush. "And not sure what the future holds in terms of professional flag space, but it's an exciting time."
Although not sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League, the high school flag football season in Minnesota kicked off this past Sunday. The league, fully supported by the Minnesota Vikings and across the NFL, encourages inclusivity and is cost efficient for the participants.
"These are smaller roster sizes when you compare to like a tackle football team," says Rush. "So from the school's perspective, I think part of it is that low cost and low threshold perspective. But, you know, certainly I think from the athlete side, it's tapping into a new demographic of people who may not previously have been involved in in team sports."
The season will conclude with the state title game June 9 at TCO Stadium.
During this past week's NFL Draft, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, first round picks Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and other draft prospects participated in a flag football skills clinic with middle school students and 75 Special Olympics athletes.
Ward, Hunter, Abdul Carter and other players tossed passes and led drills. Goodell also joined in and posed for pictures with the special Olympians.
“I just hope they learn they got to work hard,” Ward said. “They gotta push themselves to how far they think they can't push themselves. There's a lot of days where I wanted to quit but I didn't quit.”
The NFL’s goals of expanding flag football starts with Goodell. The league played a major role in getting flag football included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“Flag football has been growing dramatically here in the states as well as internationally,” Goodell said earlier this month. “It’s brought young women into the sport and it’s given them a chance to play, which I think is incredibly valuable to our future and rewarding. So now to put it on that Olympic stage is really putting a seal of approval. And frankly it’s going to be a stage where a lot of athletes are going to want to participate in, including former and current players, so we’ll to have to work through it. I think it’s a great opportunity for the athletes, a great opportunity for the NFL and I think it’ll be a great opportunity for people to understand football and what it brings to the world.”
The college level is the natural place for the next surge of growth. Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is one of seven NCAA schools fielding a club team this spring in a league launched with $140,000 and logistical support from the Minnesota Vikings.
Kiley Coyne, an assistant director of admission for the music department who just happens to play on a women's tackle football team in her spare time, eagerly added coaching to her duties at the school of 2,000 undergraduates in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“I remember saying, ‘I just need 10.’ If we can have an offense and a defense, let's go," Coyne said. “Now we have 23 people who've gone out for it.”
According to National Federation of High Schools data, 14 states have girls' flag football as a sanctioned sport with 42,955 players nationwide during the 2023-24 school year. That figure doesn’t include club or intramural participation, of course. About half a million girls ages 6 to 17 play the sport in some organized form. In Minnesota, the Vikings helped launch a four-team pilot at the high school club level last spring. This year, there are 51 schools in the league.
More than 100 higher-educational institutions, either in the NCAA, the NAIA or the junior college level, are now offering women’s flag football as a varsity or club sport, according to the NFL. The NAIA was on board first with sanctioned competition that began in 2021. There are 16 schools currently supporting an NCAA varsity program, with at least 20 more teams expected to start in 2026. Earlier this year, the NCAA recommended women’s flag football be designated an emerging sport.
One of the most intriguing developments in Minnesota has been the turnout from women who had never played an organized team sport before.
“Why am I doing this? It’s for those women who’ve never worn a uniform, who've never been part of the school spirit of being part of a team,” said Melissa Lee, an associate athletic director at Augsburg University in Minneapolis who agreed to coach the school's team.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.