In just four years since the return to full activity in high school sports following the pandemic, participation figures have increased more than 200,000 each year. Two of the biggest reasons have been the re-emergence of 11-player football and the skyrocketing numbers of girls flag football.
In the year prior to the pandemic, football had just recorded its sixth consecutive decline and 10th decline in the previous 11 years. Participation had dropped more than 100,000 participants during that time period.
Talk about a comeback. With many programs on the sidelines for parts of two years, the return of the floodlights to high school fields on Friday nights has sparked communities across the country.
The number of participants in boys 11-player football has increased three of the past four years – a trend not seen since the mid-2000s some 20 years ago. And to further illustrate the health of the most popular high school boys sport, the number of schools offering the sport was the second-highest all-time in 2024. With 14,269 schools sponsoring 11-player football in 2024, only the 14,279 schools in 2010-11 tops last year’s number in the 55-year history of the NFHS survey.
With concussion protocols and laws in place in every state, a reduction in contact levels before the season and during practices, and the teaching of proper tackling skills at lower levels, we believe people, including parents of high school student-athletes, are seeing and believing that the sport of football at the high school level remains as safe as it ever has been.
These numbers express the desire by high schools to keep alive one of the oldest and most treasured traditions in our nation – Friday Night Football Under the Lights. Although there are many options today for the entertainment dollar, nothing surpasses supporting the local high school football team on Friday nights. The No. 1 fan base in America? The answer is in the numbers – 14,269 schools and 1,029,588 participants.
And the excitement for the sport which was first played in 1875 between two Connecticut schools is not limited to the traditional 11-player game. In some rural areas of the country, schools field 6-, 8- and 9-person teams due to declining populations, but the excitement for the sport remains.
An article on www.ruralmessenger.com details the excitement of six-person football in western Kansas. The Kansas State High School Activities Association sanctioned six-person football in 2021 to meet the needs of smaller schools in the western part of the state, which has given residents of towns like Ingalls, Kansas, the same opportunities as other high school fans across the country.
Mark Lentz, assistant executive director of the KSHSAA, said keeping the football team going gives small towns a chance to bring their community together.
“When you play a varsity game on a Friday night, that’s what’s going on in town,” Lentz said. “And that’s what we want to keep, and we want schools to thrive and communities to thrive and have that opportunity.”
While the numbers are heading back in a positive direction in the traditional sport of football, the acceleration in the numbers for girls flag football has been even more astounding. Since the first post-pandemic NFHS survey, participation in girls flag football has increased a whopping 388 percent, with the 2024-25 report indicating 68,847 girls competing in the fastest-growing emerging sport for girls. Sixteen states have sanctioned the sport, with two more set to officially approve by 2027, and 22 other states have independent/pilot programs. The potential is simply off the charts.
The rapid growth of flag football for girls is one of the best stories in a number of years. The NFHS has published a rules book to accommodate the growth, and more and more state associations are sanctioning the sport and providing girls an opportunity to compete for a state championship.
And the sport is growing at other levels as well. Girls NFL Flag experienced a year-over-year growth of 21 percent in 2024 and sustained expansion through Parks & Recreation programs (up 23 percent in 2024) and YMCA programs (up 31 percent in 2024).
The 2024-25 NFHS Athletics Participation Survey indicated an overall total of 1,139,326 participants (boys and girls) in all variations of football (11-player, 9-player, 8-player, 6-player and flag) – 13.8 percent of all sports in the record-setting total of 8,266,244.
While some college conferences continue to schedule games on Friday nights, it is clear that high school football remains the lifeblood of communities on this special night during the fall.
