History of Arizona High School Girls Flag Football

Girls Flag Football began as a high school sport in 1998 in Palm Beach, Florida.  The brainchild of then athletic director Bill Massey, Girls Flag Football would soon get the attention of the FHSAA (Florida's athletic association.)  By 2003, the sport achieved full sanctioned status.  Two years later, Alaska followed in their footsteps.  By 2012, school districts in New York, the District of Columbia, San Francisco, and Nevada had all sanctioned flag football.

       Arizona's story begins in the 2006-2007 school year.  On the campus of Desert Ridge high school in Mesa, a group of teachers and students formed the school's first PowderPuff game.  Unlike most traditional PowderPuff games, Desert Ridge would treat this game with the same respect given to a boys' football game.  The girls responded as you might predict.  They wanted more!  It wasn't until 2012, however, that history would be made as Desert Ridge and Mesquite played in the state's first inter-school Girls Flag Football game, approved by both campuses.  The game, covered by 3TV's Varsity Zone, sparked the movement toward AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association) recognition.

       Throughout 2012-2013, the Desert Ridge coaches worked with the AIA administration to recognize Girls Flag Football.  This is where the story takes a strange and tragic turn.  Although Girls Flag Football was approved on the final agenda of the school year (5/20/13), with the expectation that Arizona's first season would begin in the spring of 2014, the agenda item was never heard.  The untimely tragedy that occurred just five days before the AIA board meeting derailed our best efforts to make this sport a reality. 

       In 2015, Hamilton became the third school to play an official game, this time at the home of the Desert Ridge Jaguars.  Once again, 3TV was there, as it had been the previous three years.  In 2018, Hamilton hosted games against Casteel and Desert Ridge, becoming just the second school to host an official Girls Flag Football game in Arizona.  Without much momentum outside of Hamilton and Desert Ridge, we waited for a sign.  That sign came in the form of a Superbowl commercial in February of 2021.

       Nike proposed granting up to 5 million dollars in order to make Girls Flag Football a 50-state high school sport.  The Chandler Unified School District, led by Hamilton, was quick to jump on this opportunity.  CUSD proposed a district-wide club league to begin play in the spring of 2022.  The first season of high school Girls Flag Football was played between March and April of 2022.  Chandler schools played eight regular season games and a two-round, four-team playoff to crown a champion. 

       Despite the best efforts of CUSD, no other school districts elected to join during the 21-22 season. In May of 2022, Higley high school hosted a jamboree which featured Highland and Mesquite (Gilbert Public Schools) and Mountain Pointe (Tempe Union.) It was a sign of things to come. 

       In April of 2022, Mr. David Hines, the Executive Director of the AIA, attended a Girls Flag Football game at Hamilton high school in order to evaluate the viability of the sport as an emerging sport candidate.  After 16 years of development and 10 years of lobbying the AIA for recognition, Girls Flag Football stood at the doorstep of history.  On December 12, 2022, the Arizona Interscholastic Association sanctioned Girls Flag Football beginning in the 23-24 school year. 

       In the spring of 2023, Arizona high schools from five different districts (36 high schools) competed in the final spring season prior to the sport moving to the fall.  In the fall of 2023, the first AIA sanctioned season commenced.  56 high schools competed in the 6A and 5A conferences.  In the fall of 2024, Arizona will add a 4A conference in order to accommodate the nearly 120 high schools that compete in Girls Flag Football. 

       The fastest growing sport in the country continues to make waves.  In December of 2023, the first ever U.S. Army Bowl was played in Girls Flag Football.  Arizona had three athletes and two coaches on the West squad. The Arizona Cardinals, the Fiesta Bowl committee, and the University of Arizona have all hosted large events in 2023 promoting Girls Flag Football through camps, showcases, and tournaments.  Girls from all over Arizona have received scholarships to play college flag football across the country.  The next step for our sport is the NCAA. That day will come sooner than most imagine, just as the sport in Arizona grew quicker than anyone predicted.  Well... almost anyone. ;)

~ Matt Stone