The NFHS reported 8,415,684 participation entries nationwide, an increase of 149,440 from 2024-25. It was the fifth consecutive annual increase in the survey and another all-time high.

The figures show continued growth in reported involvement across school sports, but they also raise practical questions about whether local programs have enough fields, mats, coaches, officials, transportation and funding to support more teams and athletes.

Girls flag football leads the growth

Girls accounted for a record 3,654,589 reported participation entries, up 3.2% from the prior year. Boys also reached a record, with 4,761,095 entries.

Girls flag football grew 48.7%, from 68,847 entries in 2024-25 to 102,360 in 2025-26. The number of schools reporting the sport rose from 2,736 to 3,990.

The NFHS said 37 states will be sanctioning girls flag football or conducting independent or pilot programs by the following year. That does not mean the sport will be available under the same rules, facilities or funding conditions in every state. Programs may differ substantially by school system and state association.

Girls wrestling also continued to expand. Reported entries increased 19.9%, from 74,064 to 88,771, across 8,853 schools.

What the national total does — and does not — show

The NFHS total is a count of participation entries, not necessarily a count of unique student-athletes. A student who plays more than one sport may be represented more than once, and reporting practices can vary among state associations and schools.

That means the new high confirms higher reported participation in the survey, but the data alone cannot establish how much of the increase came from new students, students adding another sport, expanded school reporting or a combination of factors.

Other established sports remain major parts of the high school landscape. Volleyball, for example, exceeded 500,000 reported participation entries, according to the NFHS release.

Access may determine who benefits

The national growth comes alongside evidence that organized sports are valued but not equally accessible to all families. An August Associated Press–Ipsos poll found that 54% of parents of children entering grades K-12 in the 2026-27 school year said at least one child plays organized sports.

Participation was higher among households earning at least $100,000 a year than among lower-income households. The poll also found that 84% of sports parents identified scheduling and logistics as a major or minor household challenge. Other reported challenges included team or club fees at 73%, travel at 72% and equipment or uniform costs at 69%.

The poll surveyed 1,737 U.S. adults, including an oversample of 510 parents of K-12 children who participate in organized sports. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4.9 percentage points for that sports-parent subgroup, before accounting for additional uncertainty in smaller subgroups.

The poll measures youth sports broadly, including school, club and recreational programs. It is not a measurement of the NFHS high school sports population.

What to watch next

The next test will be whether more states move girls flag football from pilot or independent programs into regular sanctioned competition, and whether schools can add the staffing and facilities needed to sustain participation.

Families may see more opportunities, but local access will depend on whether a school offers the sport, has qualified coaches and officials, can provide transportation and equipment, and keeps participation costs manageable. The NFHS numbers show growth nationally; they do not by themselves establish equal access or compliance with any particular legal or funding standard.

Sources

• NFHS: 2025-26 high school sports participation release
• Ipsos: AP-Ipsos sports parents poll
• Associated Press: Higher-income families more likely to enroll kids in organized sports