Oregon Sanctions Girls Flag Football

November 1, 2026

The Oregon School Activities Association's Delegate Assembly voted girls flag football in as an OSAA-sanctioned activity at its meeting on 12 October 2026. The first sanctioned season is spring 2027. The OSAA's release does not give a vote count.

Oregon got there through a process with published numbers at every step. The OSAA made girls flag football an emerging activity in October 2024, once 25 schools were playing. An emerging activity becomes eligible for sanctioning after two years if 50 schools take part. OSAAtoday counted 58 schools in April 2026; the OSAA's October release counts 57 varsity teams last spring, with more than 1,400 players. The OSAA says girls flag football is the second sport added through its emerging-activity process, after boys volleyball in 2025-26.

The release leaves the details of the first season for later: the OSAA says a plan book and 2027 dates will follow. Spring 2026 ended with a culminating event at Liberty High School, which Tualatin won 32-26 over South Salem. That was not yet an OSAA state championship, and the OSAA has not yet said what the 2027 postseason will be. Nike has pledged home and away jerseys for every Oregon varsity team in the first season, and for schools that add the sport in its first three sanctioned seasons.

How many states is that? The OSAA calls Oregon the 25th state to sanction girls flag football. By our count, Oregon is the 23rd state, or the 24th entry if the District of Columbia is included. The difference is a matter of definitions, which we explain in why the counts disagree and our methodology.

The Oregon entry and the sanctioning thresholds guide have been updated. Source: OSAAtoday, "OSAA adds girls flag football as sanctioned activity".

Sanctioning status for every state is tracked on the national tracker. See methodology for how we source and date entries.