Girls’ flag football approval possible within months, NCHSAA board says

Girls’ high school flag football teams could be competing for a state championship next school year, possibly in the fall.

That was the word Tuesday, as the N.C. High School Athletic Association board of directors wrapped up its annual fall meeting in Chapel Hill.

“I don’t think there’s any question that girls’ flag football is coming,” board president Stephen Gainey, superintendent of the Randolph County Schools, said after Day 2 of the meeting wrapped up Tuesday.

“There is clearly movement that this issue doesn’t get kicked down the road,” said board member Sam Jones, principal at West Stokes High.

During the first day of the meeting Monday, board members discussed the difficulties causing a delay in the NCHSAA officially sanctioning the sport.

It appeared as if a decision could have been delayed until the board’s May meeting, or even until the 2026-27 school year.

But Gainey said board members continued discussing the issue after Monday’s session, and he said there is clear agreement that the sport will be approved soon.

A committee studying the girls’ flag football issue could have a report ready as early as February.

Gainey said that it’s possible the NCHSAA board could meet then for a decision.

Standing in the way are two issues — whether the official season will be in the fall or in the spring; and how the NCHSAA can pay for another championship.

The latter issue surfaced Monday and Tuesday, when the board discussed the $1.5 million deficit that the NCHSAA incurred during the 2024-25 school year.

The organization was able to dip into its reserves to cover the deficit, but as NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said, “We don’t want to be dipping into those all the time.”

Tucker and board members are mildly concerned that the deficit could increase this year, with the NCHSAA expanding from four to eight size classifications — thereby doubling the number of state championship events.

“This is the first year of eight classifications, so we are dealing with some unknowns,” Tucker said. “We will have to see how it looks after this first year with the eight classifications.”

The Carolina Panthers have provided grant money to launch flag football programs across North Carolina, and Tucker said she hopes the team will continue to provide financial backing.

Board members also continued to discuss the idea of holding an invitational tournament next fall, to determine a champion.

Tucker said that is how the sanctioning process for girls’ wrestling started.

A fall championship would be a problem for the 21 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools girls’ flag football teams, but CMS athletic director Ericia Turner, who is an NCHSAA board member, said Monday that she would be willing to switch the Charlotte-area schedule to fall.

The board made decisions on several other issues Tuesday:

— Game officials in all sports will receive a 5 percent pay raise, starting with the 2026-27 academic year. In addition, a committee will study a long-term system of pay raises. A study showed that North Carolina ranks near the bottom in the Southeast for pay to game officials.

— Players participating in 7-on-7 summer football games no longer will be permitted to wear shoulder pads. That move was made to reduce the threat of heat-related illnesses.

— The board delayed acting on a request from schools in the far eastern part of the state, allowing multiple schools to form a single team in sports where participation is low. Board members said they have too many questions about how that would work, and a committee will study the idea.

— The NCHSAA added three members for the 2026-27 school year Hawbridge School, south of Burlington; Revolution Academy, northwest of Greensboro; and Wilson Mills Academy, in Johnston County east of Raleigh.

— Decided that, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, conference ties will be broken by RPI ratings, not by coin flips or draws.