Nebraska offers first-ever Division I, P4 deal for girls flag football player

Orange Lutheran's Makena Cook becomes trailblazer for the sport with scholarship offer

Jan. 27, 2026 at 10:55am

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High school girls flag football saw a historic moment last week as Orange Lutheran (Calif.) junior quarterback Makena Cook became the first-ever female athlete to receive a Division I, Power 4 offer for the sport from the University of Nebraska. Many coaches and players reacted with excitement, seeing this as a monumental step forward for girls flag football and a signal that more schools will likely follow Nebraska's lead in sanctioning women's flag football programs.

Why it matters

This offer represents a major milestone for the growth and legitimization of girls flag football as a high school sport. With flag football being the fastest growing high school sport in the country, Cook's scholarship offer from a Power 5 program could pave the way for more schools to invest in and recruit for women's flag football teams, expanding opportunities for female athletes.

The details

Makena Cook, who is already committed to playing soccer at the University of Georgia, put up impressive numbers this past season for Orange Lutheran, completing 74% of her passes for over 7,000 yards and 112 touchdowns. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, a passionate supporter of girls flag football, reached out to offer Cook a scholarship after seeing her film. While the details of the offer are still unclear, this is seen as a significant step forward that could inspire other schools to follow suit and create more Division I opportunities for girls flag football players.

  • Last weekend, Nebraska offered Makena Cook a Division I, Power 4 scholarship for girls flag football.
  • This past season, Cook completed 639 of 863 (74%) passes for 7,083 yards and 112 touchdowns for Orange Lutheran High School.

The players

Makena Cook

A junior quarterback at Orange Lutheran High School in California who has verbally committed to play soccer at the University of Georgia, but is now the first-ever female athlete to receive a Division I, Power 4 offer for girls flag football from the University of Nebraska.

Kristen Sherman

The head coach of the girls flag football team at Orange Lutheran High School, who expressed excitement over Cook's historic scholarship offer from Nebraska.

Matt Rhule

The head football coach at the University of Nebraska, who is a passionate supporter of girls flag football and reached out to offer Makena Cook a scholarship.

Josh Saunders

The head coach of the girls flag football team at Tampa Robinson High School in Florida, who also coaches on one of the United States junior national teams.

Matt Hernandez

The head coach of the girls flag football team at Alonso High School in Florida, who has overseen four state championship teams and also coaches on one of the United States junior national teams.

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What they’re saying

“I knew that something was brewing. My husband is our tackle coach and he spoke to coach (Matt) Rhule, who is a very passionate supporter of girls flag football. We got him the film and shared it with our athletic director. It's incredibly exciting. I think it's a monumental moment. For every girl that didn't think that there's a path, there is. I think this is a really big signal from Nebraska.”

— Kristen Sherman, Orange Lutheran High School girls flag football head coach (on3.com)

“(Makena Cook) is delightful, great. I think its phenomenal for her and a lot of players. We're still very new into this process into what that offer looks like. Nobody really knows, including Nebraska, what that offer entails. Is it a full or partial scholarship? What do these offers actually look like? It's different how it looks like for a lot of NAIA. (Players) get those offers and there's still a lot of money they still have to pay.”

— Josh Saunders, Tampa Robinson High School girls flag football head coach (on3.com)

“Kind of speaking to the expansion into NCAA and Division I, I know of all that has been around for a long time that this time was coming. From a USA junior national team stand point, I coached her in 2023 as apart of the junior national team program, it was great to see her continue to develop and how much she's on the cutting edge of the sport.”

— Matt Hernandez, Alonso High School girls flag football head coach (on3.com)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This historic scholarship offer from Nebraska for Makena Cook represents a major milestone for the growth and legitimization of girls flag football as a high school sport. With flag football being the fastest growing high school sport in the country, this could pave the way for more schools to invest in and recruit for women's flag football teams, expanding opportunities for female athletes across the country.