UPDATE: The Houston Texans Foundation raised a record-setting number, over $1.4 million, to fully fund Girls Flag Football in ALL 25 Houston Independent School District high schools for the next three years at the August 29 Season Premiere event.
Girls Flag Football is growing steadily around the world, but it's exploding here in H-Town.
The Houston Texans Season Premiere is Thursday evening inside NRG Stadium, and the event will feature players, coaches, front office staff, TORO and the Houston Texans Cheerleaders interacting with guests, as well as live and silent auctions, and delicious food and drinks. All the proceeds will go to the Houston Texans Foundation and their efforts to expand girls flag football in Houston.
At the highest level of the organization, the Texans are intent on growing the game and having girls experience the thrill of competition on the gridiron.
"I played flag football in college and those are some of my fondest memories," Houston Texans Co-Founder and Senior Chair Janice McNair said. "I'm so glad we are bringing the game I love to young girls in Houston through this exciting program."
That fondness for flag is shared by Houston Texans Foundation Vice President Hannah McNair.
"Girls Flag is personal to me," Hannah McNair. "I played in college and now my daughter is following in her mom and grandmother's footsteps. This year's Season Premiere will benefit the expansion of our Girls Flag Program so even more girls in H-Town can play the sport. I can't wait to see the impact we're able to make through Girls Flag this season and beyond."
Last Saturday's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams was also the Play Flag game. At halftime, high school girls from Booker T. Washington and Westbury squared off in a 6-minute game on the field, with Washington triumphing by a 6-0 margin.
It was one more important step in a journey that's wound its way to becoming another prominent sports option for girls.
"Girls Flag gives girls an opportunity to be a part of something and play the game that's so special to all of us," Lady Texan Jamila Ryans said. "As a former athlete myself, I hope this program inspires all young girls, including my daughters, to get involved in the game."
Flag Football will make its Olympic debut in 2028 at the Los Angeles games, and there are currently more than 25 colleges that offer Girls Flag as a varsity, scholarship sport. Last spring, Hawaii joined 11 other states around the nation in making girls flag football an officially sanctioned varsity sport. The Texans, and many others, are hoping the state of Texas and the UIL are next.
Last spring, 12 high schools in the Houston Independent School District participated locally, and 10 more charter schools around the city also played. The regular season was in April and the early part of May, with the playoffs and championship wrapping up the season on May 18. Washington, like last Saturday, was victorious in that title game, while the Legacy School of Sports Sciences captured the Texas Charter School and Athletic League (TCSAAL) crown.
