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HOWLAND -- Girls at Howland schools will have the chance to try a new club sport, thanks to the school's partnership with an NFL team.
At Monday's meeting, the Howland Board of Education approved girls flag football as a club sport for the 2025-26 school year -- with uniforms, equipment and clinics to be provided by the Cleveland Browns.
The opportunity will be available to high school girls, according to Andrea Ferenac, the district's activities director.
In response to board member Jeff Pegg's question about coaches, Ferenac said the school has already received interest from coaches who oversee other sports.
"If it moves forward, let's say, next year, it would have to be a memorandum of understanding with (the) Howland Classroom Teachers' Association to create a supplemental for paid positions at some point," Ferenac said.
Ferenac said they surveyed kids, receiving a "pretty high interest" in the sport. Ferenac said the school already has a partnership with the Browns, so it was taking advantage of the free resources that already existed.
"I truly value the people that have already reached out and shared their interest in helping out coaching and volunteering their time," Ferenac said.
Ferenac said the sport will remain a spring sport when it is sanctioned through the Ohio High School Athletic Association next year.
Ferenac said there are other districts in the area providing the program, noting that Warren G. Harding had it last year. She said Liberty and Campbell were some of the 2025-26 school year's participants, potentially including Champion.
"Everyone's deadline to apply is Dec. 1, so once that time has passed -- the Cleveland Browns actually organized the northeast chapter," Ferenac said. "(The) Cincinnati Bengals take care of the southern portion of the state, and they create the schedule for those teams that are interested."