UIL REALIGNMENT: Most Intriguing 5A DII Storylines to Watch
The biggest storylines for 2026 UIL Realignment at the 5A Division II level involve an East Texas split, a Golden Triangle return to Region III, and questions in the Brazos Valley.
Golden Triangle Return to Region III: One of the most surprising moves in the last realignment was the UIL putting Port Neches-Groves, Nederland, Dayton and several Houston area schools in District 8-5A Division II, which is Region II. I don’t believe we’ll see any non-DFW districts in Region II in this alignment, but if it does happen I’d look more to Central Texas and the Houston/Golden Triangle schools move back to their traditional home in Region III.
Questions In the Brazos Valley: Bryan Rudder and Brenham are in the unenviable position of not really having a good read on where they’ll land. You could potentially also place Huntsville in this camp as well. The closest regional move would be keeping them in Region III with schools in the north Houston suburbs, but that creates a domino effect that could cause for long travel in other areas, specifically the Golden Triangle. There’s a scenario where Rudder and Brenham go north into Central Texas like they did this past alignment. Will they be Region II or Region III though? There’s even a scenario where Rudder and Brenham slide south and west toward Austin where even a move to Region IV is in play.
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