Na’Sya Atkins does not know if graduation will actually feel like the end of high school.
On June 5, the Americas High School senior — a member of the Trailblazers’ girls flag football team — will walk the stage at the Don Haskins Center alongside her classmates, accepting her diploma as part of the annual rituals that normally bring closure to a student-athlete’s final season.
But Atkins may have to return to campus days later.
If Americas wins next week’s Region 19 girls flag football tournament, scheduled Monday-Wednesday, May 18-20, at the Socorro Independent School District’s Student Activities Complex, Atkins and her teammates will continue practicing after graduation. They’ll do so in preparation for the inaugural girls flag football state championship — a newly created event backed by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans that is scheduled June 14-15 at the University of North Texas in Denton.
“It’s not really about this school, it’s about my team,” Atkins said during a recent afternoon practice at Americas High School. “This is what we wanted last year. So, yeah, we’re not just gonna stop. We’re going for state.”
That uncertainty — whether the season is truly over, whether the sport itself has fully established a long-term place in Texas high schools — mirrors the broader moment surrounding girls flag football across the state.
The sport will make its debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. NFL organizations have invested in leagues and championship events across Texas. Some colleges have begun offering opportunities to female players. Yet, the University Interscholastic League that governs middle and high school athletics still has not sanctioned girls flag football as an official high school sport, telling El Paso Matters in a statement it is monitoring participation numbers, geographic growth and long-term sustainability.
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Even without UIL sanctioning, local administrators said participation numbers and interest from younger students have continued to climb.
That local momentum has coincided with increasing investment from the NFL and its Texas franchises.
The Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans sponsor programs across the state and helped launch the inaugural girls flag football state championship tournament that will take place next month.
Last season’s Region 19 championship game between Americas and Harmony School of Innovation at the SAC drew more than 1,000 spectators and appearances from former NFL players, team executives and mascots from both franchises.
For districts throughout the Borderland, the visibility surrounding the sport has reinforced the idea that the region has become an early testing ground for what girls flag football in Texas could eventually become.
“I think what El Paso has done to kind of promote this,” Nunn said, “is provide a positive example of what it could be.”
See here and here for some background, and here and here for more on the Texans’ involvement. Women’s flag football is already a scholarship sport at some colleges, with more likely to come quickly. It’s on the horizon for the 2028 Olympics, and I’d bet the NFL will be launching a pro league for women in the next couple of years. All this to say, what is the UIL waiting for? Get this approved and get on the ground floor of a bunch of new opportunities coming our way.
Why don’t they have flag football for boys, too?
Why don’t they have tackle football for girls?
I think that the flag version is the ultimate future of the sport. The TBI data is horrific, and I say that as someone who grew up mostly in TX and watched the sport on multiple levels. Yes to flag for boys, but not tackle for girls.
The only thing more boring than football (12-14 mins of actual action inside a 3+ hour event ???) is flag football.
They do have flag football for boys, BTW. It runs spring and summer as an “unofficial” sport but uses mostly the same regs as official UIL competitions. Ends up serving as skill position practice/camp.