Is this old news?

[Gontex]

Victoria Advocate had a story recently about a new discussed allignment for football playoffs. They had 16 districts for large schools in 3A. The district they had projected for Gonzales was made up of Bandera, Canyon Lake, Fredricksburg, Wimberley, Gonzales and San Antonio Sam Houston. Cuero was in a different district with LaVernia and four other schools. Interesting. Three teams from each district would still make the playoffs. This would be in lieu of developing a new 6A classification.

[LH Panther Mom]

It depends on what you call "old". ;) Although, I don't recall anything about the Advocate article, just a couple of threads with UIL stuff.

[CenTexSports]

http://www.rockdalereporter.com/Sports1.htm


Fictional UIL format raises questions
Rockdale in with usual suspects; Thorndale and Milano would be split up


 Want to read some great fiction this summer? Then the University Interscholastic League has got you covered.
 The UIL has revealed its draft football alignment, an alternate look at how this year’s football districts would have appeared if the UIL’s plan to split conferences into two divisions would have been put in place.
 It would be a departure from the current policy which places schools geographically, rather than by size.
 Six man football schools already utilize this plan.
 The largest half of each conference is grouped into a division and the smaller half of the conference is divided into a separate division.
 The large school division has 16 districts and the smallest half of each conference has 16 districts, comprised of six to eight schools.
 “Strong argument can be made that the size of a school has a strong correlation to success in football,” said UIL Athletic Director Charles Breithaupt. “Football is a game that necessitates depth in numbers.”
 The same number of schools from each district advance to the playoffs (four in 5A and 4A, three in 3A, 2A, 1A). And the same number of state champions would be crowned, 12.
 In the mythical plan, Rockdale would be a Division II school and the Tigers’ current district lineup wouldn’t change much, adding Lorena and Crockett and losing Taylor and Navasota in a new District 9-3A.
 With its near-1,000 student enrollment, Taylor would be a high-end Division I Class 3A school and move into District 13 with the Waco schools, Liberty Hill, Gatesville and Burnet.
 The Tigers would add some district travel time in Crockett, which is 115 miles away.
 In its current configuration, Rockdale’s longest district trip is Madisonville, 77 miles away.
 “I am a little torn,” said Rockdale Athletic Director Jeff Miller. “It would seem more fair to play teams that we’re closer to in enrollment, but it would end up costing schools extra money due to travel.
 “It would not effect us quite as much as it would a lot of other schools in regards to travel. The equality of playing schools that are within a couple hundred students seems to sound really fair.
 “It would mean the largest school in our district would be in the 650 range instead of the 950 range. Those 300 students can make a huge difference on an athletic team.”
 In Class A, Milano and Thorndale would be split up into different districts with Milano taking the brunt of change.
 The Eagles would be a Division II team and in District 11A with old friends Bartlett, Burton, and Holland, but also Evant, Bremond and Chilton.
 Chilton and Bremond are perennial state championship contenders, both coming out of current District 25A.
 And the Eagles would have to travel to Evant, 104 miles away. Milano’s longest journey now is 46 miles to Granger.
 Burton would have to drive 166 miles to play Evant and vice-versa.
 Thorndale would move into the Division I group and into District 13A with old rivals Granger and Thrall and add Iola, Normangee and Somerville.
 Iola would be the Bulldogs longest trip at 90 miles as they would add more mileage to their schedule with Normangee (75) miles and Somerville (55).
 “I have no problem with any system that can be thought up that provides equity,” said Thorndale Coach Todd Doughty. “The funny thing to me is they state under a disadvantage that it could cause additional travel.
 “And in 2A (they have) Hearne travelling to Lago Vista and Harper to Weimar and in 3A Bullard is travelling to Mexia, Groesbeck and Fairfield just to mention a few.”
 “There is also a disadvantage in the size of districts and the numbers that advance to the playoffs,” Doughty said. “The larger the district the more difficult it is to advance in small schools where they don’t take as many to the playoffs year in and year out.”
 In 2A Division I, Region II there are two, eight team districts and two, five team districts.
 In 4A, Division II, there is one, 10-team district, three, nine team districts and three, eight team districts.
 “There is no perfect system,” Doughty says. “Under this system, travel will be a problem. The least they can do is balance the districts up.”
 Neighbors Hearne and Lexington would continue in the same district as Division I schools, but would add Salado, Academy, Lago Vista and Florence.
 The UIL hopes to accomplish several things if this plan is ever approved by the legislative council.
 It would provide more clarity regarding who is Division I and Division II, which would be defined prior to the season rather than at the end of district play.
 And, it creates more enrollment equity between schools within a division.
 However, in the day of $4 a gallon gasoline and $5 diesel, this plan calls for additional travel for most schools.
 “Keep in mind,” says Breithaup, “in this format, non-district games could be much closer, thereby negating the costs borne for the district contests.
 “The UIL staff must also make certain that as much travel as possible is eliminated for its membership.”
 Again, this is just a study and is meant strictly for football and could not be implemented until the next classification realignment in 2010.

stillbill@rockdalereporter.com