The Bears showed up in full force for the second Illinois High School Association girls flag football state championships last Saturday.
Hosted at Willowbrook High School, the state series featured the top eight teams out of more than 200 schools that competed this season — a testament to girls flag football's continuous growth after 154 schools participated last year in the inaugural IHSA season.
As catalysts for the sport's inception and rapid growth across Illinois, the Bears have continued to provide support despite no longer hosting tentpole events such as the state championships. This year, that support came in the form of several Bears executives on site and participating in the championship festivities Saturday, which culminated in Maine South defeating Whitney Young to hoist the first place trophy and Willowbrook beating Perspectives for third place.
"The second IHSA girls flag football state championships were a huge success and great showcase of the growth and development of the sport, with over 200 teams participating in the state series," director of football development Gustavo Silva said. "The support from the Bears was greatly appreciated and noticed with George H. McCaskey working with officials for the second year and Kevin Warren, Ted Crews, Karen Murphy and Tanesha Wade serving as honorary captains.
"I was grateful that our leadership was able to witness the impact of the support the organization has given the sport since 2021 when the pilot program launched, later leading to girls flag being sanctioned in 2024."
Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren, along with his wife, Greta, were in attendance at Willowbrook Saturday morning to support the championships.
Serving as honorary captain for the first semifinal game between Maine South and Perspectives, Warren helped kick off the day with the ceremonial coin toss and midfield meeting between the teams.
"This is the future of football," Kevin shared, "not just on a high school level, but on a collegiate level, Olympic level, professional level. I think a lot of these talented young women will work at the Bears one day, or they will somewhere in the NFL. The good thing about it by having the support here is they get a chance to understand there are so many other different ways to be involved in the National Football League from a front office standpoint, an administrative standpoint and an ownership standpoint.
"It is good to see this holistic approach to the game. These girls are talented. Even from last year to this year, the speed, the physicality, the level of plays seemed to have increased. It has been a blast being out here today."
As Kevin helped get the game underway, Greta was wrapping up a CPR training class for girls flag football teams inside the Willowbrook field house that provided hands-on training for the students for the second straight year.
"It puts the power in our hands to save someone's life," Greta said. "It is something we can do from all walks of life. life. We now have control, and we can teach these young folks some control in saving other people's lives. That builds confidence, just knowing that they have accomplished a skill that is lifesaving. What is better than that?"
Kevin and Greta stayed to watch the semifinal contest and were impressed with how the competition level and fan support have increased in girls flag football over the last few years, as well as how quickly the sport is growing at the collegiate level, with schools now offering scholarships for girls flag football.
"I have always loved flag football, and now this gives us an opportunity as females to participate in a sport we have always loved," Greta said. "That is what I am excited about, because we are skilled and we love football. But this is something now we can really participate in doing at a high level."
Murphy, Bears chief operating officer and executive vice president of stadium development, and Wade, Bears executive vice president of diversity, equity & inclusion and chief impact officer, were honorary captains for the ensuing semifinal contest between Whitney Young and Willowbrook. Staley Da Bear also stopped by to interact with fans and celebrate with the winning teams.
Crews, special advisor to the President/CEO and chief administrative officer, then took the field for the third-place game between Willowbrook and Perspectives to flip the coin and deliver the game ball.
For a second straight year, McCaskey worked alongside the officiating crew to assist with the down marker.
The complete support from the Bears Saturday is a microcosm of what the club has poured into girls flag football over the last five seasons. Having watched interest and participation in the sport rapidly grow, the Bears executives were honored to play a role in another championship weekend, with support of proud partners Gatorade, Nike and Visa.
"I think it is unbelievable, the growth in this sport," Murphy shared, "and I am so proud to work at the Bears, to be such a big supporter of girls flag. I continue to tell people how important it is when girls play sports. It's been shown that it translates to leadership in the workplace, and I think the skills that these girls are learning, resiliency, confidence, communication skills, it is just incredible. And I love being here to watch them. I'm very proud of them and the work they're doing. They are pioneers."
