October Decisions: Oregon, Texas and Virginia Weigh Girls Flag Football
September 16, 2026
Three state associations could move on girls' flag football in October 2026. They are at very different stages: Oregon has met its own threshold and faces a sanctioning vote, Texas is on its third look at the question, and in Virginia it is not yet clear that a proposal is on the table at all. This is where each stands, from the associations' own material wherever it exists.
Oregon: a sanctioning vote after meeting the threshold
Where it stands. The Oregon School Activities Association made girls' flag football an emerging activity in October 2024, once 25 schools were playing. Under OSAA rules, an emerging activity can be sanctioned after two years if 50 schools take part. The OSAA's own news service reported in April that participation grew from 32 schools in 2024 to 47 in 2025 and 58 in 2026.
What is being decided. Whether the OSAA Delegate Assembly sanctions the sport at its October meeting. If it does, girls' flag football becomes an official OSAA sport in 2027, and the third sport the association has added in recent years, after girls' wrestling (2023-24) and boys' volleyball (2026).
Source: OSAAtoday, 22 April 2026. Our entry: Oregon.
Texas: the UIL's third look
Where it stands. The University Interscholastic League has not sanctioned girls' flag football. Schools play in leagues run with the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, which have helped start programs at more than 160 high schools, according to reporting. The UIL's Legislative Council took no action on the sport in October 2025 but said it would keep studying it, per the same reporting.
What is being decided. At its June 10, 2026 meeting, the Legislative Council directed UIL staff to develop an implementation plan and survey superintendents about adding girls' flag football, with the proposal to be considered at the Council's October meeting. Reporting puts the earliest possible start at 2027-28. Rules the Council adopts also require the approval of the Texas Commissioner of Education before they take effect, so an October vote would not be the last step.
Sources: UIL Legislative Council results, 10 June 2026; UIL league governance (Commissioner approval). Our entry: Texas.
Virginia: a meeting date, but no confirmed proposal
Where it stands. We have not found a Virginia High School League document on girls' flag football, and the reports conflict. Loudoun County Public Schools wrote in August 2026 that the sport is not VHSL-sponsored. In January 2026 the Prince William County school board made it a permanent fall sport in its schools and voted to formally ask the VHSL to sanction it statewide. Other coverage has described the sport as already a VHSL sport; we have found nothing from the VHSL that supports that.
What is being decided. The VHSL Executive Committee meets on October 1. Whether girls' flag football is on its agenda is the first thing to check; we will record what the agenda and minutes say, not what is reported about them.
Source: VHSL Executive Committee. Our entry: Virginia (not yet confirmed).
Also this fall: Minnesota
The Minnesota State High School League tabled a proposal in June to make girls' flag football an emerging sport, the first step toward sanctioning, with discussion expected at its fall meetings, according to reporting. We have not yet confirmed this from MSHSL documents.
What happens next
We update each state's entry, and the national count, from the association's own announcement or minutes on the day they are published. Every scheduled decision we track, including the NCAA's January vote, is on the upcoming decisions page. Reporters covering these votes can find our counts, definitions and contact details on the press page.
Sanctioning status for every state is tracked on the national tracker. See methodology for how we source and date entries.