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Former Tennessee star quarterback Casey Clausen is bringing his new girls flag football and boys 7-on-7 leagues from California to Tennessee.
He spent much of this summer driving throughout the Volunteer State to lay the groundwork for the launch of the Rising Stars league, where boys and girls from second to eighth grade can compete in a five-week season. For more information, check out risingstars7v7.com.
All three Clausen brothers are involved. Casey Clausen, one of UT’s all-time passers, has utilized his relationships with former Vols to get it started in Tennessee. Jimmy Clausen, the former Notre Dame quarterback, and Rick Clausen, another former UT quarterback, are helping to kick it off in California and Tennessee.
Games will be played at schools in four Tennessee cities: Knoxville (Catholic), Chattanooga (McCallie for boys, Girls Preparatory School for girls), Murfreesboro (Riverdale) and Nashville (Franklin Road Academy).
Casey said the rise of elite football recruits in the state motivated him to bring the 7-on-7 boys league to Tennessee.
“It’s no secret why so many people are moving to Tennessee, including a lot from here in Southern California. And there is unbelievable talent in that state with a lot of athletes and quarterbacks,” he told Knox News.
“So we’re bringing a Southern California passing league there for the youth in a state where I still have lots of great relationships with former (Tennessee) teammates."
Some 7-on-7 boys leagues are already popular in Tennessee. Clausen’s inspiration to start a girls flag football league came from his family’s personal experience.
Casey has daughters in fourth and seventh grades. Jimmy’s daughter is in fourth grade. They started a girls flag football team, along with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s daughters, but they had very few opponents.
“They had a blast doing a couple of weeks of practice, and they were excited about playing a game. But who were they playing against? All the boys from their school,” Casey said.
“So a couple of the moms said, ‘Can we get an all-girls league out here?’ That’s what jump-started this thing, and girls flag football is obviously a very hot sport throughout the U.S. and internationally right now.”
Women’s flag football will debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
In January, the NCAA added flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program. That means the NCAA encourages and supports universities to create women’s flag football varsity programs, with a potential move to championship status.
The Emerging Sports for Women program, which started in 1994, has converted eight sports to NCAA championship status: rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003), beach volleyball (2015), women’s wrestling (2025), acrobatics and tumbling (2026) and STUNT (2026).
A few NCAA schools already have announced plans to start varsity women’s flag football teams. The Clausens want girls in California and Tennessee to get ahead of the curve.
“High school girls flag football is very popular in Southern California, and it’s going to become very popular in Tennessee,” Casey said. “There will be opportunities if you’re good enough in high school to get a scholarship in college.”
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why former Vols QB Casey Clausen is bringing girls flag football to Tennessee
Continue reading...
He spent much of this summer driving throughout the Volunteer State to lay the groundwork for the launch of the Rising Stars league, where boys and girls from second to eighth grade can compete in a five-week season. For more information, check out risingstars7v7.com.
All three Clausen brothers are involved. Casey Clausen, one of UT’s all-time passers, has utilized his relationships with former Vols to get it started in Tennessee. Jimmy Clausen, the former Notre Dame quarterback, and Rick Clausen, another former UT quarterback, are helping to kick it off in California and Tennessee.
Games will be played at schools in four Tennessee cities: Knoxville (Catholic), Chattanooga (McCallie for boys, Girls Preparatory School for girls), Murfreesboro (Riverdale) and Nashville (Franklin Road Academy).
Casey said the rise of elite football recruits in the state motivated him to bring the 7-on-7 boys league to Tennessee.
“It’s no secret why so many people are moving to Tennessee, including a lot from here in Southern California. And there is unbelievable talent in that state with a lot of athletes and quarterbacks,” he told Knox News.
“So we’re bringing a Southern California passing league there for the youth in a state where I still have lots of great relationships with former (Tennessee) teammates."
Clausen brothers, Matthew Stafford saw need for girls flag football
Some 7-on-7 boys leagues are already popular in Tennessee. Clausen’s inspiration to start a girls flag football league came from his family’s personal experience.
Casey has daughters in fourth and seventh grades. Jimmy’s daughter is in fourth grade. They started a girls flag football team, along with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s daughters, but they had very few opponents.
“They had a blast doing a couple of weeks of practice, and they were excited about playing a game. But who were they playing against? All the boys from their school,” Casey said.
“So a couple of the moms said, ‘Can we get an all-girls league out here?’ That’s what jump-started this thing, and girls flag football is obviously a very hot sport throughout the U.S. and internationally right now.”
Girls flag football coming to Olympics, NCAA
Women’s flag football will debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
In January, the NCAA added flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program. That means the NCAA encourages and supports universities to create women’s flag football varsity programs, with a potential move to championship status.
The Emerging Sports for Women program, which started in 1994, has converted eight sports to NCAA championship status: rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003), beach volleyball (2015), women’s wrestling (2025), acrobatics and tumbling (2026) and STUNT (2026).
A few NCAA schools already have announced plans to start varsity women’s flag football teams. The Clausens want girls in California and Tennessee to get ahead of the curve.
“High school girls flag football is very popular in Southern California, and it’s going to become very popular in Tennessee,” Casey said. “There will be opportunities if you’re good enough in high school to get a scholarship in college.”
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why former Vols QB Casey Clausen is bringing girls flag football to Tennessee
Continue reading...
