Tulsa Public Schools to Kick-Off First Girls Flag Football Season

Tulsa, Okla. — Next month Tulsa Public Schools will start their first-ever Girls Flag Football Season. This is in partnership with Bishop Kelley High School, Driven Flag Football, and Cleats for Kids.

NewsChannel 8 spoke with Allen Medlock, the Athletic Director at Hale High School who says this will be the first high school flag football league in Oklahoma, saying it will be comprised of nine TPS high schools and Bishop Kelley High School.

“Mick Wilson from Tulsa Public Schools approached me and asked me what I thought about maybe partnering to start doing some girls flag football here in the state of Oklahoma,” said Lance Parks, the Athletic Director at Bishop Kelley High School.

Parks says flag football is a growing sport across the country, saying that it’s a tremendous avenue for girls who love football to express their passion for it and their skills.

“I believe that you know, if we do this right, that Tulsa Public Schools and Bishop Kelly won’t be alone in doing flag football moving forward, and that’s certainly my hope,” said Parks.

Allen Medlock, the Athletic Director of Nathan Hale High School, is pleased the sport is now finding its niche and expects it will become one of the bigger sports in TPS.

“The further it grows and the faster it grows, I would think it’s only within a couple years that we’re playing in regular districts and predetermined schedules throughout the state,” said Medlock. “There’s interest outside of Tulsa that’s going to promote that.”

“We’ve been around since 2022. And this last summer, it was our first actual season,” saidBen Ezugha, the Owner and Director of Strike League.

Also having its first girls flag football season is Strike League, a flag football organization based in Oklahoma City

Ben Ezugha, who is the Owner and Director says in 2022, they started by conducting flag football camps and doing community outreach to build the program until they had enough girls interested in playing.

“It’s a growing sentiment of more and more people wanting to be a part of it, more and more states are willing to sanction it for their high school athletes to participate in. But it’s kind of like, I’m in San Francisco just before the gold rush. Or I’m in the West as the Wild Wild West is happening,” said Ezugha.

Ezugha says he hopes Oklahoma City Public Schools will see the success of Tulsa Public Schools’ flag football league and decide to implement a league of their own.

The first game of the season will be on October 16th.