Indianapolis – The Indianapolis Colts today celebrated the kickoff of the second high school girls flag football postseason, which begins Sept. 30.
Fall 2026 was the second season of girls flag as an "emerging sport" in Indiana, the first step toward becoming an IHSAA-sanctioned sport. The season included 108 teams from more than 50 Hoosier cities and towns.
As part of this second postseason, 91 teams will compete at Sectional tournaments hosted at 16 high schools across the state:
- Munster Sectional
- Crown Point Sectional
- Michigan City Sectional
- Penn Sectional
- Elkhart Sectional
- Garrett Sectional
- Ft. Wayne Northside Sectional
- Harrison (West Lafayette) Sectional
- Lawrence North Sectional
- Ben Davis Sectional
- North Central (Indpls.) Sectional
- Warren Central Sectional
- Beech Grove Sectional
- Terre Haute South Sectional
- Floyd Central Sectional
- Evansville Mater Dei Sectional
The winners of each Sectional will advance to the State Regionals – hosted by Evansville FJ Reitz, Huntington North, Michigan City and Warren Central – Oct. 10. The Regional winners will advance to the second-ever State Finals at Grand Park Sports Campus, in Westfield, Ind., on Oct. 17.
Tournament brackets, game schedules and game tickets (available beginning Oct. 13), can be found at Colts.com/GirlsFlag.
In 2026, more than 2,700 girls competed in the second season of girls flag football as an "emerging sport" in Indiana. To become eligible as a fully sanctioned sport, 100 high schools must compete while in emerging sport status.
To reach this goal, the Colts created the Colts Girls High School Flag League in 2023 with eight teams, growing to 108 teams in 2026. The Colts also invested $1 million to help recruit and offset the startup costs for 100 high school teams. The IHSAA may vote to sanction the sport as early as May 2027.
Colts Girls Flag Football is fueled by Gatorade and sponsored in part by Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. Schools and communities interested in fielding a team in 2027 may visit Colts.com/GirlsFlag.
