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After a successful four-team pilot flag football season last year, the Minnesota Vikings put together a plan to expand the program by establishing a 20-team league from high schools in the state.
The Vikings reached that 20-team mark — and then blew past it. The organization announced Tuesday a 51-team high school girls flag football league, the first of its kind in Minnesota.
“We knew the interest was there, statewide,” said Emily Weinburg, Vikings Youth and High School Football Coordinator. “We just didn’t necessarily realize the extent.”
Beginning the weekend of April 27, the high school teams will play a four-week regular season split into 12 districts, culminating in playoffs with one team from each district on June 1 and a state championship game on June 8 at TCO Stadium, the headquarters and training facility of the Vikings.
Flag football is the fastest-growing sport in the United States, primarily driven by increased opportunities and enthusiasm for the sport’s debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Nearly 43,000 girls played flag football in 2023-24, more than double the previous year and up from about 15,700 in 2021-22. This past year, USA TODAY Sports and the NFL partnered for the first-ever Super 25 girls' flag football rankings, which culminated in a Pro Bowl Showcase in Orlando, Florida, back in February.
The popularity and energetic progression of the sport was reflected in Minnesota, too, where the Vikings estimate more than 1,200 girls around the state will play in the league.
“Anybody that was showing interest in wanting to form a team, we didn’t want to create more roadblocks for them,” said Vikings Youth & High School Football Manager Joe Rush. “We’re in the business of removing barriers for schools — whether that’s financially, whether that’s through different education and tools, equipment and other resources, we really just didn’t want to turn any schools away that were showing interest in this.”
The Vikings announced they will contribute $600,000 to support the league. This funding will cover various costs, ranging from field rentals to athletic trainers and equipment. In addition, USA Football will supply “starter kits” with essentials of the sport, including footballs, flag belts, pennies, pylons, whistles, and agility ladders. Rush called it a process of “nuance” to figure out what resources each individual school needed.
“We met every school where they’re at — [we] did not have a uniform support package, and really wanted to provide the resources, the training, the education and the equipment based on what each school told us that they needed,” he said.
More than 55% of the athletes signed up have not previously played a team sport, Weinburg said. The organization sees flag football as an opportunity to provide the benefits of team sports to a group of high school girls who otherwise might not receive it.
“We believe deeply in creating and driving inclusivity within our community, and increasing opportunities for girls to play at all levels,” Rush said. “We certainly all understand the benefits of team sport, both the tangible, physical benefit, but also the social-emotional benefit as well, just having that feeling of community.”
The Vikings organization also hopes it can open more collegiate pathways.
“It’s a really cool runway that mimics that of other sports as well,” Weinburg said. “Being able to reach this whole other subset of the population that didn’t have this opportunity before, and opening those doors for them.”
Anoka High SchoolApple Valley High SchoolBenilde-St. Margaret's High SchoolBig Lake High SchoolBloomington Kennedy High SchoolBurnsville High SchoolCentennial High SchoolChamplin Park High SchoolDeLaSalle High SchoolEagan High SchoolEastview High SchoolEden Prairie High SchoolElk River High SchoolFairmont High SchoolFarmington High SchoolHopkins High SchoolLaCrescent High SchoolLakeville North High SchoolLakeville South High SchoolMahtomedi High SchoolMelrose High SchoolMinneapolis Camden High SchoolMinneapolis Edison SchoolMinneapolis North High SchoolMinneapolis Roosevelt High SchoolMinneapolis South High SchoolMinneapolis Southwest High SchoolMinneapolis Washburn High SchoolMinnetonka High SchoolMonticello High SchoolMounds View High SchoolNorth St. Paul High SchoolPark Cottage Grove High SchoolPine Island High SchoolProctor High SchoolRichfield High SchoolRobbinsdale Cooper High SchoolRochester Mayo High SchoolRosemount High SchoolRoseville High SchoolSartell High SchoolSimley High SchoolSouth St. Paul High SchoolSpring Lake Park High SchoolSt. Cloud Tech High SchoolSt. Louis Park High SchoolSt. Michael Albertville High SchoolTartan High SchoolTwo Rivers High SchoolWaterville-Elysian-Morristown High SchoolWoodbury High School
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Vikings announce 51-team high school girls flag football league
Continue reading...
The Vikings reached that 20-team mark — and then blew past it. The organization announced Tuesday a 51-team high school girls flag football league, the first of its kind in Minnesota.
“We knew the interest was there, statewide,” said Emily Weinburg, Vikings Youth and High School Football Coordinator. “We just didn’t necessarily realize the extent.”
Beginning the weekend of April 27, the high school teams will play a four-week regular season split into 12 districts, culminating in playoffs with one team from each district on June 1 and a state championship game on June 8 at TCO Stadium, the headquarters and training facility of the Vikings.
Flag football is the fastest-growing sport in the United States, primarily driven by increased opportunities and enthusiasm for the sport’s debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Nearly 43,000 girls played flag football in 2023-24, more than double the previous year and up from about 15,700 in 2021-22. This past year, USA TODAY Sports and the NFL partnered for the first-ever Super 25 girls' flag football rankings, which culminated in a Pro Bowl Showcase in Orlando, Florida, back in February.
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The popularity and energetic progression of the sport was reflected in Minnesota, too, where the Vikings estimate more than 1,200 girls around the state will play in the league.
“Anybody that was showing interest in wanting to form a team, we didn’t want to create more roadblocks for them,” said Vikings Youth & High School Football Manager Joe Rush. “We’re in the business of removing barriers for schools — whether that’s financially, whether that’s through different education and tools, equipment and other resources, we really just didn’t want to turn any schools away that were showing interest in this.”
The Vikings announced they will contribute $600,000 to support the league. This funding will cover various costs, ranging from field rentals to athletic trainers and equipment. In addition, USA Football will supply “starter kits” with essentials of the sport, including footballs, flag belts, pennies, pylons, whistles, and agility ladders. Rush called it a process of “nuance” to figure out what resources each individual school needed.
“We met every school where they’re at — [we] did not have a uniform support package, and really wanted to provide the resources, the training, the education and the equipment based on what each school told us that they needed,” he said.
More than 55% of the athletes signed up have not previously played a team sport, Weinburg said. The organization sees flag football as an opportunity to provide the benefits of team sports to a group of high school girls who otherwise might not receive it.
You must be registered for see images attach
“We believe deeply in creating and driving inclusivity within our community, and increasing opportunities for girls to play at all levels,” Rush said. “We certainly all understand the benefits of team sport, both the tangible, physical benefit, but also the social-emotional benefit as well, just having that feeling of community.”
The Vikings organization also hopes it can open more collegiate pathways.
“It’s a really cool runway that mimics that of other sports as well,” Weinburg said. “Being able to reach this whole other subset of the population that didn’t have this opportunity before, and opening those doors for them.”
2025 Minnesota High School Girls Flag Football Participants
Anoka High SchoolApple Valley High SchoolBenilde-St. Margaret's High SchoolBig Lake High SchoolBloomington Kennedy High SchoolBurnsville High SchoolCentennial High SchoolChamplin Park High SchoolDeLaSalle High SchoolEagan High SchoolEastview High SchoolEden Prairie High SchoolElk River High SchoolFairmont High SchoolFarmington High SchoolHopkins High SchoolLaCrescent High SchoolLakeville North High SchoolLakeville South High SchoolMahtomedi High SchoolMelrose High SchoolMinneapolis Camden High SchoolMinneapolis Edison SchoolMinneapolis North High SchoolMinneapolis Roosevelt High SchoolMinneapolis South High SchoolMinneapolis Southwest High SchoolMinneapolis Washburn High SchoolMinnetonka High SchoolMonticello High SchoolMounds View High SchoolNorth St. Paul High SchoolPark Cottage Grove High SchoolPine Island High SchoolProctor High SchoolRichfield High SchoolRobbinsdale Cooper High SchoolRochester Mayo High SchoolRosemount High SchoolRoseville High SchoolSartell High SchoolSimley High SchoolSouth St. Paul High SchoolSpring Lake Park High SchoolSt. Cloud Tech High SchoolSt. Louis Park High SchoolSt. Michael Albertville High SchoolTartan High SchoolTwo Rivers High SchoolWaterville-Elysian-Morristown High SchoolWoodbury High School
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Vikings announce 51-team high school girls flag football league
Continue reading...
