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Tennessee Titans announce 2023 girls flag football league in partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools





{span}Ravenwood senior Kelsey Thomas runs back an interception during the Williamson County girls flag football championship game in May. {/span}Jay Sowers / Main Street Nashville

{span}Ravenwood senior Kelsey Thomas runs back an interception during the Williamson County girls flag football championship game in May. {/span}Jay Sowers / Main Street Nashville

The Tennessee Titans are launching a girls flag football league set to begin next spring in conjunction with Metro Nashville Public Schools, the team announced Tuesday.

The league will feature 15 schools in its first year. Participating schools and schedule structure will be announced at a later date.

Exploration of a Davidson County flag football league began several months ago after Williamson County Schools conducted the state’s first girls flag football pilot program last spring, aided by help from the Titans. The NFL is a driver behind the sport in other states as well through NFL FLAG, which has led efforts to expand women’s flag football across the U.S. at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels.

The Williamson County program was hailed as a success and will continue in 2023.

“We couldn’t wait to partner with the Tennessee Titans to bring girls flag football to Metro,” Metro district athletic director Mark North said in a release. “We are proud of our student-athletes and the tremendous amount of talent in our school district, and we can’t wait to offer young women a new avenue to engage with football and utilize their athletic abilities. A huge thanks to the Titans organization for making this a reality.”

 

 

It’s the latest momentum to sanction girls flag football as a TSSAA sport. The TSSAA will provide advisement for the hiring of game officials, championship planning, tournament format, rules interpretations and other details, according to the Titans’ release.

Williamson County School participants were pleased with last season’s success.

“I’m hoping the TSSAA expedites making it a sanctioned sport and lets the schools who can do it, do it,” Page coach Charles Rathbone said in May. “We had schools calling, ‘Can we just come up and scrimmage you guys?’ I think Rutherford County wants in, Metro wants in. Why wait? Let’s see if we can get this done and in two years let’s do it, let’s start playing and get them in regions. Even if it’s 100 schools to begin with, you can do something with that because it’s going to grow.”

The Titans announcement came on the same day it hosted the MNPS Flag Football Kickoff Event at Saint Thomas Sports Park, a free camp teaching skills and drills of proper flag football technique.

The Titans rookie class attended while a coaching staff from RCX Sports, whose mission statement involves “improving the accessibility and inclusivity of sports by enhancing the youth sports experience and creating opportunities for all athletes to play” oversaw instruction.

“Women make up approximately half of the Titans’ and NFL’s fan base, and it’s clear from our experience in Williamson County that young women in Tennessee are craving more ways to get engaged in the sport,” Titans Vice President of Marketing and Communications Kate Guerra said in the release. “Throughout the NFL, we’re seeing more women working in football operations and front office roles than ever before, and it’s very possible we’re fostering the next generation right here in our backyard. We couldn’t be more thrilled to expand this league to MNPS and look forward to seeing the students out on the field.”

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