On January 15, 2026, the board of education approved a girl’s flag football team to begin next fall. This will be a great opportunity for girls to try out a new sport.  

Over the last few years, flag football has been booming. There are over 200 schools in Illinois that are offering flag football and over 900 schools across the United States. The NFL has heavily invested in flag football to establish global recognition. They have devoted $32 million dollars to develop a professional flag football team. The NFL has also been an advocate for flag football at the 2028 summer Olympics. NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, has poured his support into flag football in an article with the Chicago Bears. “It’s fantastic,” Goodell said. “I think for young boys and girls to be able to play our game and participate in an Olympic sport, I think it’s a great opportunity for all of them. It’s awesome to see.” (https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-honor-flag-football-trailblazer-with-super-bowl-tickets) 

Girls flag football, in general, has continued to skyrocket. High school participation surged by 60% in 2024-2025, reaching 68,847 players. Overall, participation among girls ages 6-17 has jumped 63% since 2019! There are currently over 1.3 million people participating in flag football at any level. The University of Nebraska just announced that they will have a division 1 flag football team in the spring of 2028. This is such a great opportunity for women to discover new goals and aspirations.  

All three Lincoln-Way High Schools will be getting a girl’s flag team starting next school year and it will be fun to see how far this program will go.