The 2026 University Interscholastic League (UIL) Realignment and Reclassification will take place this February and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football (DCTX) has confirmed with the UIL the dates of the next step in the process of setting the road map for Texas High School Football for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The date schools will use to submit their enrollment is October 31. This date is more commonly known as "Snapshot Day." Schools have until November 7 to submit their enrollment figures from Snapshot Day to the UIL.

These enrollment figures are called Average Daily Memberships (ADM), and these enrollment numbers will be used to determine which classification schools will be placed in (Class 6A, 5A-Division I, etc.).

DCTX will post a running list of all snapshot numbers that are submitted. A mock realignment will be compiled by the staff at some point in November.

The next steps in the process of UIL Realignment will come at some point after Thanksgiving when the UIL releases the classification and division cut-off’s; at that point the schools will know which classification they’ll land in once the districts are announced in February.

One thing we’ll be keeping an eye on across the state is the number of 6A schools that may be turning in lower enrollment numbers. Early indications are this could be the rare realignment cycle where the cutoff between 6A and 5A either drops or remains stagnant. Currently the 6A/5A cutoff line sits at 2,275 students.

As public-school enrollment across the state has either stagnated or dropped, the number of new schools opening has slowed down. A decade ago we were seeing as many as 15 schools added in a cycle. In this realignment we are adding just six new schools - Prosper Richland, New Braunfels Long Creek, Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch, Richmond Tomas, Katy Freeman, San Antonio Creek View and Lubbock Frenship Memorial.

Keene, a 3A school located in Johnson County, is adding football and will join a UIL district this realignment, while Austin LASA in Austin ISD is expected to rejoin a UIL varsity football district after playing an outlaw schedule in 2025.

It is unclear if Tornillo, out in the El Paso area, will pick football back up after they withdrew from their 3A-Division II district shortly after realignment. We have reached out to Tornillo ISD multiple times with no response.

This is information is more difficult to track, but there could also be a few charter schools that add UIL football and will join a UIL district in the upcoming realignment. We have heard rumblings of at least one charter in the Dallas area and San Antonio area who could look to join a UIL district. In the last alignment Katy Harmony and Sugar Land Harmony were added in 4A-Division II.

Stay with Dave Campbell’s Texas Football all week for full coverage of Snapshot Day and its impacts to not only Texas High School Sports, but all of Texas High School Athletics!