FORT WORTH, Texas — With help from the Dallas Cowboys, Fort Worth ISD has formed a varsity girls flag football league that will begin this spring.
In a news release, the district said the new league will open in March with 15 teams from within Fort Worth ISD.
According to the district, the girls flag football league is one of the first of its kind among public school systems in Texas.
The goal is to have the sport recognized as a Title IX activity, the district said. And Fort Worth ISD has the full support of the Cowboys.
The NFL team hosted an event at AT&T Stadium on Saturday to get student-athletes ready for the league by teaching skill and techniques.
Among those in attendance to speak to the students were former Cowboys great DeMarcus Ware and Wylie native Sarah Fuller, who became the first woman to play -- and score -- in a Power 5 collegiate football game when she served as a kicker for Vanderbilt University in 2020.
"So excited for every single one these girls in this program. They are all trailblazers playing the sport they love!" Fuller said in a tweet.
According to the district, the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation helped provide funds for the sport.
"The Dallas Cowboys are excited to support female student-athletes in Fort Worth ISD who want to play organized flag football as part of their high school experience," Charlotte Jones, Dallas Cowboys executive vice president and chief brand officer, said in a statement. "The game of football teaches you so much more than how to score touchdowns. It instills teamwork, discipline, handling success and failure, time management and a healthy mindset."
The district said it had surveyed female student-athletes in 2018 about sports that weren't offered within the district. Flag football was in the top three of desired sports, according to Fort Worth ISD.
According to the district, the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New York and Nevada have already officially sanctioned girls flag football as a varsity sport.
