Texas Girls Flag Football may need to wait longer than expected

All right. So this next story, I want you guys to send me a text at 713-581-9914 right there, or join me on TikTok right here, AnthonyTVNews. So this is pretty cool. So girls flag football is officially on a path to becoming a varsity recognized high school sport, but that path got a little bit longer and players and advocates are hoping that, you know, this comes to fruition sooner rather than later. So let's go to our Sacra Gray, who's joining us now at the Farm League Park in Spring with the UIL's next steps. This week, the UIL voted to approve girls flag football as a pilot program. So this would be for 5A and 6A schools, and it would kick off in the 2028-2029 school year at the earliest. Leading up to the rollout, UIL staff will spend time surveying school districts and drafting the rule book. Think of the pilot program as a test run before state sanctioning is fully on the table. We spoke to the head coach of the TFL, Lady Colts, a select girls travel team in Spring. They said the road to getting sanctioned is proving to be longer than expected. My first reaction was, yay, this is great, but man, that is a delay that really frustrated us. They've tabled us for many years now and kind of pushed us to the side. And it's great to have a pilot program, But we're ready now, and I know we're frustrated, and we want it sanctioned now. Hannah McNair has been at the forefront of expanding the sport. The Texans launched their girls flag football program back in 2023, and they've expanded to more than 150 schools. Currently, there's 25 states that have already sanctioned girls flag football, and we were hopeful that Texas would be next. So for us, we know that football is king here in Texas. There's nothing bigger than football and Friday night lights, and we want these girls to have their version of it. So it delays the opportunity for these schools and these girls who are not participating in our program currently, they'd have to wait to join and be a part of that pilot program. Most of the people we spoke to say this is a step in the right direction, but the timeline is just moving slower than expected. If you think about it, there may be some high school athletes to graduate before they're ever given the opportunity to earn their varsity letters in this sport. This is good stuff here. Lots of text messages coming in. So let's start with this poll at the bottom of your screen. We're asking you guys, what do you think about it? And all of you saying you're absolutely loving it, okay? A lot of texts coming through as well. One viewer says, it's about time. Elaine in League City says, again, it's about time. Thank you, Elaine, for watching. Another viewer says, I love this. Every girl doesn't want to be a cheerleader or in the school band and this is another option for them right something else they might enjoy so i agree with you um denise says i think it's a good idea another viewer says i'm loving it it might be better than the Texans these days the Texans are still two and four on the season but again Hannah McNair she's been really an integral part of you know putting setting shedding some more light on this uh sport of flag football the texans do have a team there with some young ladies they've been really talented the last couple of years since 2023. So again, it's on a path to hopefully that's one day become a high school varsity sport. And as it looks a bit here, many of you responding are saying you enjoy it. Okay. All right.