Girls flag football state championship coming to Illinois in 2024

More than 100 schools expected to participate in 2024

The Illinois High School Association announced on Wednesday morning that girls flag football will be the latest sport to compete for a state championship, with the first title to be contested in the fall of 2024. 

“The addition of girls flag football furthers the IHSA mission of creating participation opportunities for high school students in Illinois,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in a press release. “The sport has experienced significant growth in a short amount of time, and our member schools are excited to see it become an IHSA sport. The Chicago Public Schools Athletic Administration and the Chicago Bears both deserve significant praise for their grassroots efforts in shepherding and supporting the growth of girls flag football in Illinois.”

The IHSA Board of Directors approved adding girls flag football to its state series at its meeting on Feb. 4. The IHSA will hold a state series for 40 total sports during the 2024-25 school year.

The inaugural Illinois girls flag football championships are scheduled for October 11-12, 2024.  

“It is important for the IHSA to continue to adapt to the interests of our students and schools,” Dan Tully, the Principal at Notre Dame College Prep in Niles and President of the IHSA Board of Directors, said in a press release. “Girls flag football is somewhat unprecedented in terms of its growth and timeline for achieving an IHSA State Series. We are enthusiastic about how much has been accomplished in such a short amount of time, and expect that participation will continue to increase in the years ahead.”

The IHSA has added girls wrestling (2022), Esports (2022) and boys and girls lacrosse (2018) in recent years. 

The IHSA has announced it has commitments from more than 100 schools to participate in its inaugural state series in 2024 with almost 40 more schools expressing interest in fielding a team in 2025.

The sport has grown in recent year and, led by the Chicago Public League and the Chicago Bears, has conducted postseason tournaments in Chicago the past three years. 

The CPL hosted a postseason tournament in 2021, won by Back of the Yards High School. Then the CPL and Bears worked together to host championship events in 2022 (won by Willowbrook High School) and 2023 (Lane Tech High School). 

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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveIL