MPSSAA announced the opening dates for the 2026 fall sports season, with golf eligible to begin competition Aug. 12 and cross country, field hockey, football, soccer and volleyball able to begin counting wins and losses Sept. 4. Girls’ flag football will debut as a sanctioned sport after school sponsorship exceeded the required minimum of 40% of MPSSAA member schools.
Girls’ flag football reaches sanctioned status
Girls’ flag football will join the MPSSAA lineup as a sanctioned sport after more school systems moved to sponsor the program. That increased the number of sponsors beyond the required 40% threshold among member schools.
The MPSSAA Board of Control requested approval to sanction girls’ flag football from the State Superintendent of Schools. The 2026 Fall Sports Bulletin includes state tournament regulations, policies and sport-specific state association rule adoptions for the fall season.
Fall sports dates and resources
Golf could begin competing on Aug. 12, the first practice date. Cross country, field hockey, football, soccer and volleyball can begin counting wins and losses on Sept. 4, the first allowable play date.
Classification and region alignments are located on the last page of each fall sports bulletin. Schedules and results are available through the “Scores & Results” section on the MPSSAA homepage and through each sport’s homepage, while region standings are also available through the individual sport pages.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
The 2026 fall season will mark the debut of girls’ flag football as a sanctioned MPSSAA sport. Aug. 12 for golf and Sept. 4 for the other listed fall sports provide the season’s first competition markers, while the 2026 Fall Sports Bulletin outlines the regulations, policies and rule adoptions for the sports.
Source: Original report
