For the fifth consecutive year, high school sports participation in the United States has set an all-time record. The 2025–26 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey found 8,415,684 participants involved in high school sports — an increase of 149,440 from the previous year, and the highest total in the survey's 55-year history. Both boys (4,761,095) and girls (3,654,589) set record highs.
The story behind the numbers is driven, in large part, by the explosive growth of two emerging sports: girls' flag football and girls' wrestling. Together, they accounted for a substantial portion of the overall gains, reflecting how new sport opportunities — when created with intention — can meaningfully change the participation landscape.
Flag Football Leads the Way
Girls' flag football delivered the most dramatic numbers in the survey. Participation jumped 48.7% in a single year — from 68,847 to 102,360 — and the sport entered the Top 10 most popular girls sports for the first time. The number of schools reporting girls flag football participation rose from 2,736 to 3,990 in one year. And 37 states are now either sanctioning the sport or conducting independent/pilot programs.
To put that growth in perspective: in 2021–22, the first post-pandemic survey year, there were just 15,716 girls participating in high school flag football nationally. In four years, that number has grown more than six-fold. It is, by almost any measure, one of the fastest expansions of a high school sport ever recorded by the NFHS.
Football Across All Formats Is Up
The news for football overall — all formats — is decidedly positive. Eleven-player football posted a 1.4% increase, reaching 1,043,716 participants and marking the sport's highest total since 2016–17. Combined with 6-, 8-, and 9-player football, plus girls flag football, total high school football participation across all formats reached 1,081,241 — up 11,597 from the previous year.
The narrative that tackle and flag football are competing against each other is not supported by the data. Both are growing. The football ecosystem appears to be expanding, not dividing.
"In the first post-pandemic survey, there were 15,716 girls in high school flag football. That number has ballooned to 102,360 — an increase of 87,000 participants in just four years."
— NFHS, 2025–26 Participation Survey
Girls' Sports Broadly on the Rise
Flag football was the headline, but girls' sports growth was broad-based. Girls' volleyball topped 500,000 participants for the first time, now standing at 502,056 and ranking No. 2 in popularity behind track and field. Girls' wrestling grew 19.9% to 88,771 participants. Girls' basketball reversed a two-decade decline to post a gain of 6,142 participants. Girls' golf increased 6.3% to 90,176 participants.
The pattern is consistent: when organized, competitive, and accessible sport opportunities are created for girls, they fill them. The challenge is creating enough of them.
Boys' Sports Also Showing Strength
The growth in girls' sports shouldn't obscure the strong performance of boys' athletics. Five of the top 10 boys' sports saw increases, including 11-player football (+1.4%), outdoor track and field, soccer, golf (+8.3%, the largest percentage increase among boys sports), and tennis. The diversity of growth across the boys' sports landscape reflects broad interest, not just concentration in one area.
What This Means for Youth Development
High school sports participation is important not just as a participation metric but as a development milestone. Athletes who play in high school are more likely to remain physically active as adults, perform better academically, and report stronger social connections and mental health. Every athlete counted in this survey is, in all likelihood, building something — discipline, resilience, teamwork — that will serve them long after their final game.
NFHS executive director Davis Whitfield framed it simply: "Education-based sports within our nation's schools is a privilege not available in most other countries, and we are thankful these opportunities continue to expand."
The record isn't just a number. It represents 8.4 million young people who chose to compete, to show up, and to be part of something bigger than themselves. That's worth celebrating — and worth building on.
