UIL Moves Closer to Adding Girls Flag Football, Shot Clock to Basketball

ROUND ROCK, TX — The UIL Legislative Council was held Wednesday, and its athletic committee discussed a handful of items, including adding girls flag football and implementing a shot clock in basketball.

Girls flag football as a UIL sport has been building momentum in recent years. There are 23 states that have already sanctioned it at the high school varsity level, and the sport is debuting at the 2028 Olympic Games.

The Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans even had representatives at Wednesday’s UIL meeting to express their support for girls flag football. They submitted a proposal to add the sport for Class 6A and 5A schools.

More than 240 schools and nearly 5,500 athletes are involved in flag leagues for the two organizations, according to Hannah McNair with the Houston Texans Foundation.

“That is not a trend,” Charlotte Jones, Cowboys co-owner and chief brand officer, said. “It’s an explosion. That kind of growth doesn’t happen because someone ran a marketing campaign. It happens because people believe support exists.” 

This weekend, the Texans and Cowboys will host the first Texas high school flag football state championship at the University of North Texas’ DATCU Stadium. 

According to Matt Stepp of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the UIL athletic committee said flag football will not be a sport in the 2026-27 school year, but it could potentially be approved by the 2027-28 school year.

Another topic discussed was the addition of a shot clock, which has been a point of debate for decades in Texas high school basketball.

Texas is one of 18 states that has never implemented a shot clock, a number that will drop to 13 next school year.

A plan to phase in shot clocks for 6A and 5A schools by the 2028-29 school year will be voted on during the UIL’s legislative session in October.

Until then, the UIL has approved schools experimenting with a 35-second shot clock beginning next school year, though only for varsity tournaments and showcases upon mutual agreement between coaches.

“It’s intended to enhance skill development of players, eliminate stalling tactics to ensure competitive fairness and prepare student athletes for the structural realities of college basketball,” said Susan Bohn, chair for the UIL’s Standing Committee on Athletics.

The Texas Association of Basketball Coaches stated that 62% of the state’s coaches surveyed were in favor of adding a shot clock. The Texas Girls Coaches Association said only 1A and 2A coaches had a majority that were opposed to a shot clock.

Another item that was discussed Wednesday was a proposal to give home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs to the highest seed in all sports.

A final vote on the proposal will likely come in October, according to Stepp.

The UIL also took no action on a proposal to allow high school football coaches to coach their teams during the 7-on-7 seasons.