JIMMY DUNCAN UPLIFTING WOMEN’S SPORTS


Two years ago, the Carolina Panthers invited se- lect high school football teams to Bank of Amer- ica Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the inaugural Keep Pounding High School Classic. One of those invited teams was the Northwestern High School Trojans from Rock Hill Schools.


The event sparked a new conversation between the school district and the Carolina Panthers: would the Carolina Panthers support a girls’ flag football league in York County?


The answer was YES, and Jimmy Duncan ’10, ’12, now leads the charge.


Competing on the Same Level On a typical school night, you can often find Duncan, athletic director for Rock Hill Schools, supporting his student-athletes from the side- lines or the stands – alongside his two cheering daughters, Nora, 5, and Adaline, 8.


So when the Carolina Panthers decided to push girls’ flag football in the Carolinas, reaching out to Duncan was the obvious call.


The district scheduled an interest meeting for families and community members, with Duncan noting that they were unsure, yet hopeful, about the outcome. A typical interest meeting about launching a girls’ sport in the district, he said, draws about 18 student-athletes.


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The one for flag football? Nearly 100 female stu- dent-athletes attended.


“From talking with parents and families, we know there’s such a high interest in football here,” Dun- can explained. “Flag football is an opportunity for these girls to compete and do the same things they’ve seen their fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles, etc., do. Another big plus is, all of these athletes are starting at the same level here.”


The Carolina Panthers Charities donated $45,000 in grant funding to go toward uniforms, equipment, and coach and player development programs. Duncan worked with peers in Clover School District, Fort Mill School District and York School District 1 to build 14 teams of 15 stu- dent-athletes each. The league played for seven weeks, two games per week, this past spring.


Joni Boyd ’07, ’20, ’21, an exercise science professor at Winthrop, former female football athlete and mom to two football-loving girls (one of whom played during the inaugural season) served as assistant coach for a flag football team.


“This moment is full circle and all-inclusive for what it means to serve our community as an


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Eagle,” Boyd said. “The 14 young athletes on my team (and likely the 13 other teams in York County) have demonstrated dedication, tough- ness, competitiveness and accountability to new skills in a short span of two months. The impact of this experience for them is momen- tous, and the future of female flag football in South Carolina is incredibly bright. I am very pumped about girls’ and women’s flag football possibilities!”


Keeping the Momentum Going Growing up in York, Duncan wanted to be a basketball coach. He worked as a graduate as- sistant in Winthrop’s physical education, sport, and human performance department and with the men’s basketball team under former Head Coaches Gregg Marshall and Randy Peele. From there, he served as an assistant coach at Cayce High School in Columbia; then basket- ball coach and athletic director at Great Falls High School in Great Falls; and then athletic director at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill before taking on the inaugural athletic director role for Rock Hill Schools in 2023.


Since then, Duncan can list several accom- plishments: convening the first Coaches’ Symposium, a professional development day for coaches at all levels; significant fundraising; and launching three new sports: men’s volley- ball, girls’ wrestling and girls’ flag football.


A new season of flag football begins this fall and expands to the high-school level in York County, with hopes of it one day being sanc- tioned in the state. Flag football is currently a sanctioned sport in 14 other states and will de- but in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.


“I’d like to keep that momentum going,” Dun- can said. “We’re known as Football USA, and I love that from a marketing standpoint. We do have a lot of great talent, but our female sports are also incredible here — three champion- ships in girls’ wrestling, championships in girls’ basketball and girls’ track and field…Flag foot- ball is another way to highlight and uplift our female athletes and give them time to shine.”

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