UIL Realignment: 10 Biggest Takeaways

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Region III Is No Longer a Houston Only Party

In one of the most surprising moves of the entire alignment, the UIL opted to move an Austin area district (Leander ISD) + Hutto and Georgetown East View all the way east into Region III, which historically has been all Houston area schools. Because Houston, in essence, lost a district with Houston ISD not having their own district unto themselves, this opened the door up for the move. This ripple effect was felt all the way into Region IV where Laredo avoided a match with the Rio Grande Valley and were placed into District 30 with Eagle Pass, Del Rio and the Southwest ISD schools.

A New District of Doom — 11-6A

In one of the more shocking and curious geographic moves of this realignment, the UIL placed Crowley and North Crowley — located west of I-35W in Tarrant County — all the way in Dallas County to play with Duncanville and to Ellis County to play with Waxahachie. It’s an absolutely titanic district that will have some incredible games, but it doesn’t make much geographic sense. One note, if Duncanville and Waxahachie make the playoffs, that would send North Crowley into the Division II bracket.

DeSoto Makes The Move to Class 5A

DeSoto made it official Monday morning. The Eagles, who have won three of the last four 6A-Division II state titles, are dropping down to Class 5A where they’ll play in 7-5A Division I with former 6A district rivals Cedar Hill and Lancaster. Always tough Midlothian joins this district along with previous 6A school Mansfield Legacy and Mansfield Summit, which is up from 5A-Division II. Burleson Centennial and Cleburne are big losers in this alignment as it could be a long two years for those programs.

A Super CenTex/Golden Triangle Switch

The biggest story in the last alignment in 5A-Division II was the shocking move of Port Neches-Groves and friends into Region II, while a Central Texas district featuring the Waco schools and Brenham were placed into Region III. This time around, the UIL got it right as the Central Texas district moves into District 8 and the Port Neches-Groves, aka “Golden Triangle” district, gets their proper placement into Region III.

Region IV Power in 13-5A Division II

District 13-5A Division II has the chance to be an absolute battle royale with Liberty Hill, Boerne, Alamo Heights and New Braunfels headlining this group. Don’t count out up-and-comers in Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch and New Braunfels Long Creek either. This is a district full of depth and a good team or two may be missing out on the playoffs.

One Four Team District in Texas

It’s pretty clear the UIL was doing its best to avoid four-team districts whenever possible, and for the most part they were able to accomplish that feat expect for District 3-4A Division I. This loop is the state’s lone four team grouping with Plainview, Andrews, Midland Greenwood and San Angelo Lake View. Finding seven non-district games will be next to impossible for these four schools, within the state of Texas at least!

Stephenville in Region III?? YUP

In an absolutely stunning move, defending state champion Stephenville has flipped into Region III, 12-4A Division I. The actual district isn’t bad when it comes to the travel, but once you get in the playoffs Stephenville’s travel is going to be big-time extended. The other three districts in Region III are all either in the Houston area or the Golden Triangle so finding neutral sites for those playoff games will be quite interesting.

Big District in South Texas in 4A-Division II

4A-Division II had two smaller districts in District 15 and 16 during the last realignment, which were five and four teams respectively. This time, 16-4A Division II is a combo platter of the Coastal Bend and Rio Grande Valley with eight schools, while 15-4A Division II moves into more of the San Antonio area with Cuero heading north and west with Bandera and Geronimo Navarro looking like intriguing district opponents.

Big Changes in 3A-Division II

There’s a lot of change in 3A-Division II with the last four state champions moving up to 3A-Division I (Gunter and Wall), thus the door opens in a big way in Region I and Region II. Wichita Falls City View, Jacksboro and Holliday move from Region II to Region I where things are much more wide open. In Region II 2A-Division I state champion Hamilton moves up and will add to the mix in that region along with some solid East Texas schools like Edgewood, Grand Saline and Harmony.

Surprise Charter Schools Playing Football

There are three charter schools who we did not have in any of our mocks, so welcome to UIL football Dallas Hampton Prep (4A-Division II), Mesquite PTAA (3A-Division II) and Big Spring Pathway (2A-Division II).