Top 10 Teams That Could Face the Most Travel in 2026-28 UIL Realignment

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Teams are listed in order of largest classification to smallest.

5A DI: Lufkin Panthers

Lufkin is on an East Texas island in Class 5A DI. 

Nearby Nacogdoches is 5A DII, as is Marshall. Longview is 6A. The only other East Texas school that’s 5A DI is Tyler, about 84 miles north, and there are 26 other 5A DI programs in Beaumont and Houston just over 100 miles south. 

Stepp’s latest mock realignment has the Panthers going south, staying with previous district foes Beaumont United, Beaumont West Brook, Port Arthur Memorial, and Baytown Sterling. 

But Barbers Hill (118 miles south) is going 6A, while Stepp has Galveston Ball (169 miles south) going to a district with 5A DI newcomers Richmond Randle and Iowa Colony. Lufkin’s new district opponents would be 6A dropdowns New Caney (90.9 miles south), Spring Westfield (115 miles south), and Goose Creek Memorial (122 miles south). 

If Stepp’s mock realignment for District 9-5A DI comes true, New Caney will be the only high school within 100 miles of Lufkin.

5A DI: Victoria East Titans

Victoria East is on an island between Corpus Christi (1 hour and 28 minutes south) and San Antonio (2 hours and 19 minutes northwest). 

There are three 5A DI Corpus Christi schools, but Stepp believes the UIL will send them south to programs from Brownsville, Harlingen, Donna, and Pharr San Juan. That means Victoria East goes to San Antonio.

In this scenario, Victoria East retains district foes Smithson Valley, Boerne Champion, Seguin, and San Antonio MacArthur. But now, the Titans add extra San Antonio teams like South San Antonio and San Antonio Jay. 6A drop-down Medina Valley, which is actually farther west from Victoria East than San Antonio at 140 miles, is also in this hypothetical District 14-5A DI.

5A DII: Amarillo Palo Duro Dons

Of the six Amarillo schools, Palo Duro is the only 5A DII program.

In Stepp’s latest mock realignment, Amarillo Palo Duro remains in District 2-5A DII with familiar foes from Abilene (Cooper and Wylie are both over four hours southeast), Wichita Falls (Memorial and Legacy are both over 3.5 hours southeast), and Lubbock Cooper (133 miles south). 

This district would swap Plainview, dropping down to 4A DI, with Lubbock Coronado, dropping down from 5A DI. Plainview is 77.2 miles south of Palo Duro, while Coronado is 128 miles south. In other words, Palo Duro loses the one district foe within 100 miles.

5A DII: Terrell Tigers

Last year, District 7-5A DII was a seven-team East Texas district. Now that Jacksonville is dropping to 4A, there are six East Texas teams and a plethora of teams on the fringes of the DFW population boom that are candidates to join them. Stepp’s latest realignment picked Terrell and Greenville to go east. 

If Stepp’s prediction comes true, Terrell would have six new district foes in Texarkana Texas High, Mount Pleasant, Hallsville, Marshall, Whitehouse, and Nacogdoches. Whitehouse is the closest school, 86.1 miles southeast and 1 hour and 22 minutes away.

5A DII: Gregory-Portland Wildcats

Gregory-Portland was in an all-Corpus Christi district for the last two years, 15 minutes away across the Corpus Christi Bay. But now that Miller, Moody, and King are dropping to 4A, Gregory-Portland is in for more travel.

Stepp’s latest mock realignment has Gregory-Portland and Corpus Christi Ray trekking much farther south with programs in Brownsville (Lopez, Pace, Porter), Mercedes, and Donna. All are roughly 2.5 hours away.

4A DI: San Angelo Lake View Chiefs

San Angelo Lake View was in a four-team district with Andrews, Big Spring, and Pecos. In his latest mock realignment, Stepp predicts Andrews to shift into an El Paso district, while Big Spring and Pecos are dropping to 4A DII. 

San Angelo Lake View is now slated to get all-new district opponents far east. Stepp slots them in District 3-4A DI with Lampasas (2.5 hours), Alvarado (3 hours and 45 minutes), Stephenville (2.5 hours), Godley (3.5 hours), and China Spring (3 hours and 25 minutes away).

4A DI: Midland Greenwood Rangers

Midland Greenwood was already on an island as the only 4A Midland school, but the Rangers’ move up from DII to DI creates quite the predicament for the UIL.

Midland Greenwood, San Angelo Lake View, Andrews, and Plainview are part of a four-team cluster in West Texas. The issue is that there are four El Paso teams in Class 4A DI as well. In Stepp’s latest mock realignment, he had San Angelo Lake View heading East (as covered above) while Andrews and Midland Greenwood go all the way to El Paso for district games. Midland and El Paso are 4.5 hours apart.

4A DII: Perryton Rangers

Perryton is one of the northernmost towns in the Texas Panhandle, about 20 minutes away from the Oklahoma border. Stepp’s latest mock realignment has their District 3-4A DII opponents staying exactly the same, but the Rangers are still worth a mention on this list.

Perryton is over 3.5 hours north of Lubbock, where district opponents Liberty and Estacado are. It is just under four hours north of Levelland. Borger is the closest district opponent, just over an hour south of Perryton.

4A DI: Somerset Bulldogs

For the past two years, Somerset (24 minutes south of San Antonio) was in a San Antonio—centric District 14-4A DI. But with Kerrville Tivy dropping down to 4A and San Antonio Creek View beginning varsity football, Stepp’s latest mock realignment predicts Somerset will go south to the Bay Area District 13-4A DI.

If this happens, the Bulldogs’ new district foes will be Port Lavaca Calhoun, Beeville Jones, Bay City, Floresville, and La Vernia. Floresville and La Vernia are both under an hour’s drive west. But Bay City is over three hours, Port Lavaca is 2.5, and Beeville is over 90 minutes.

3A DI: Vernon Lions

Not only was Vernon in one of the toughest districts in Texas (Paradise and Peaster both reached at least the fourth round of the playoffs), but it was also in one of the most spread-out districts. District foes Paradise and Boyd are two hours southeast, while Bowie is 1.5 hours in the same direction. 

In Stepp’s latest mock realignment, Vernon’s district will add Pilot Point and Whitesboro, which are both farther away from Paradise and Boyd (2.5 hours southeast).

Honorable Mentions: Del Rio, Aledo, Brownwood