Rules ??

[speedbump]

Does a new school have to have seniors on their roster,before they can play varsity schedule? Seems read that on here before.

Thanks folks

[Matthew328]

No they do not

[speedbump]

No they do not

Thank you for clearing that up for me. Fulshear didn't play a full varsity schedule until this season (26 SRs on roster) and wondered if it because of some new rule.

[Matthew328]

Thank you for clearing that up for me. Fulshear didn't play a full varsity schedule until this season (26 SRs on roster) and wondered if it because of some new rule.

No its really just up to the individual ISD

[stardog]

Fulshear is a new school - first year participating for UIL championship. This is their first year with 4 classes - Fr-Soph-Jr -Sr. New schools normally start with Freshman - Sophmore classes only. These kids come from other schools but now live in the new district and attend the new school. They usually allow Jr's the option of staying and finishing at their original school. Also Sr's finish at their original school. So the first year of new school only has Freshman - Sophmores and maybe few Juniors. The second school year all classes move up - Freshman to Sophmores - Sophmores to Juniors and Juniors to Seniors (if their are any.) Then in the third school year with all classes moving up there now is Four full classes. When they start with Fresh - Soph - maybe a Jr or two they will play a JV schedule. In the 2nd year now with Fres - Soph - and Jr's they again play Jv's maybe some smaller schools. This is a Freelance schedule where they don't participate for playoffs - championships.

All new schools that I've known have followed this method. Only one school I know of did it different. When Georgetown East View started -- all Georgetown Freshman attended at the Eastview campus and Sophmores, Juniors, and Seniors went to original GHS. Then the next year all students went to their designated high schools. I think maybe SR football athletes were allowed to continue and finish at GHS.

That's why this year a lot of new schools entering athletic competition came in classified as 5A size schoosl. A new school Leander T Glenn in 2013 was classified as 4A-1 with approx. 850 students for the 16-17 and 17-18 school years. The school played a freelance football schedule but participated in 4A-1 district 13 for all other athletic sports. The next realignmen t(4 full classes) they were at about 1500 + students and started participating in football at 5A-2 classification.

[WOS87]

From what I've seen from researching past years, new schools at least since the early 1960's (as in brand new schools - not a merger) have always started their first UIL varsity football season with at least Juniors as their most senior class in the first year competing. If they open on a realignment year with only Freshmen and Sophs they will almost always have two seasons where they field teams with underclassmen but they aren't assigned to any official district. Schools that are results of mergers have joined the UIL in odd years with WO-S being a big example in 1977 because they have a built in senior class.

Examples of new schools fielding teams with underclassmen but not being assigned to an actual district are:

Austin Reagan in 1965 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2vg6rvTimfoMmdZRFFUTHphWTg/view
Irving MacArthur in 1965 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2vg6rvTimfoRFdlZGpPRW9fSGc/view
South Grand Prairie in 1969 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2vg6rvTimfoOGdBLVlvUW1KYzA/view
Brazoswood in 1969 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2vg6rvTimfoNzZUZmozVWpScVU/view
Lewisville Hebron in 1999 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2vg6rvTimfoQ0I3cy1TOG9HVHc/view
Krum in 2010 and 2011 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2vg6rvTimfoWDdTcEZNYTdYSmM/view