Packers boost girls flag football with grants to 20 Wisconsin schools
The Green Bay Packers awarded grants to 20 more Wisconsin high schools to start girls flag football programs as the sport's growth booms.
Twenty more Wisconsin high schools have gotten help from the Green Bay Packers in starting flag intramural or club-level girls flag football programs. The $5,000-per-school grants are part of a continuing program by the team to help drive interest and participation in the sport as it grows at the grassroots level. The NFL itself has led the way in pushing expansion in recent years.
In addition to the grants, each school has received an USA Football flag equipment starter kit and 20 protective headbands, the Packers said in their announcement May 5. Four high schools in the Milwaukee area are among those receiving grants in 2026: Cedarburg, Dominican, Milwaukee School of the Arts and Milwaukee Riverside; Racine Case, Racine Park, Beloit, Burlington and Elkhorn also received grants. Fox Valley recipients are Freedom, Green Bay East, Kimberly, Little Chute and Neenah, plus nearby Southern Door in Brussels.
Around Madison, all four of the city’s public high schools are included, East, La Follette, West and Vel Phillips Memorial, as is Verona. “Seeing the growth of girls flag football in Wisconsin over the last several years has been so rewarding,” Ryan Fencl, Packers football outreach manager, said in the announcement. “We’re proud to highlight girls flag as a sport in a variety of ways through our outreach efforts, creating opportunities for girls to explore their athletic abilities through flag football.
We look forward to continuing to build momentum for girls flag in Wisconsin and contribute to the ultimate goal of establishing girls flag as a sanctioned high school sport in our state. ” Flag football , originally conceived by U. S.