Reclassification and Realignment Released Feb. 1
By Julianne Coyne | Tuesday, January 12, 2010 11:30 AM
The 2010 Reclassification and Realignment for football and basketball was released at 9 a.m. (CST) Feb. 1 on the UIL Web site and through regional education service centers.
Other alignments, starting with fall activities, will follow soon after, according to Policy Director Mark Cousins.
The R&R does not happen overnight. The staff began working on the R&R in October when schools submitted enrollment figures. The staff looks at a variety of factors when determining R&R, Cousins said.
“School size comes first, followed by geographical distribution of schools,” he said. “In a state the size of Texas, the staff also focuses on trying to minimize travel for schools as much as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, and the staff remains cognizant of the stress that travel can have on school budgets and the students who participate in UIL contests.”
The staff is not allowed to consider old rivalries, strength of teams, historical performance or other issues when designing the competitive district, Cousins said.
Cousins said the biggest changes in this alignment process will be with the 1A and 2A football alignment. The largest half of the schools in that conference will be in Division 1 and the smallest half will be in Division 2, he said. Two teams will advance from each district to the playoffs.
“The alignment is something that is continually discussed among the staff as we try to think of new ideas that can make the system more equitable for our wide range of member schools,” Cousins said.
Athletic Director Cliff Odenwald said population shifts also affected the realignment process this year.
“Our biggest issues were the declining population in community schools in North and West Texas and population growth in metropolitan schools through the I-35 corridor and Houston,” Odenwald said.
After the R&R is released, a school can appeal if it is unhappy with the alignment.
“The first appeal process is to ask the district to which the school was assigned and the district to which the school desires to be assigned for approval to switch,” Cousins said. “If the school receives unanimous approval from the schools in both districts, the appeal is automatically granted and the switch is made.”
If that first appeal is not successful, the school can present their appeal to the District Assignment Appeals Committee, made up of members of the UIL Legislative Council, which will make the final determination, Cousins said.
R&R decisions last for two years.
“The two year cycle is sufficient to address both the changing nature of demographics which affect the size of schools as well as the opening of new schools in providing equitable opportunities for competition for students and participants,” Cousins said.
According to the computer program UIL uses to aid in realignment, there are more than one million ways to create the districts, so no one knows what the districts will look like until they’re released, Odenwald said.
“The biggest day of the year for schools in Texas is the day we release the new districts,” Odenwald said. “Some will be pleased and others will be displeased no matter what. But when you work in a state the size of Texas, districts have to be made with respect to what is best for those schools and their travel time.”