Realignment of UIL a cause for confusion

[KFDM COOP]

Realignment of UIL a cause for confusion

By Dave Rogers

 

Published January 28, 2008

I’ve spent a sleepless night or two debating whether I should do this, but I’ll lose my Texas Sports Writers card if I don’t.

So here goes: The obligatory column about Friday’s much-anticipated announcement of the UIL’s Reclassification and Realignment for the 2008-2010 school years.

Here are the most important things to remember, as voiced the other day by Crosby athletic director Kevin Flanigan.

“It’s going to happen this year and every two years after,†he said. “Obviously it’s a complete guess (how it’s going to turn out) and anybody who tells you otherwise is lying through their teeth, because nobody knows.â€

Make no mistake: Friday is an important day, because it’s when every school in Texas finds out who it must battle in all sports (and also UIL academic, band, debate and theater competitions) on the first step to the Holy Grail that is a state championship.

Coaches and athletic directors will gather Friday morning at one of the state’s 20 regional education service centers awaiting the 9 a.m. release from the UIL.

First, the enrollment cutoffs used to determine who’s in Class 5A, 4A and so on. And finally, the district assignments.

Locally, it’s pretty much a given that Lee and Sterling will continue to battle one another in a Class 5A district.

There are three popular theories as to which schools they’ll find in their league next time:

• The current makeup (three Humble schools, two from Baytown plus Beaumont West Brook, Port Arthur and Channelview) will stay the same. • The Beaumont and Port Arthur schools will be sent north to a district that includes Lufkin. • The Humble schools (Humble, Kingwood, Atascocita) will be grouped with the four Aldine schools and maybe New Caney, which is moving up from 4A. If either of the latter two occur, look for Sterling and Lee to wind up in a district with Deer Park and La Porte and maybe North Shore. “I’ve seen two or three things and I really don’t know,†said Tom Ed Gooden, the athletic director for the Baytown schools. “Of course, we’d be happy if we stayed like we are, because we’re familiar with the territory. The Humble schools could go out, but then they’ve got to find two or three more and you never know who that will be. From a Baytown standpoint, the keenest interest is in finding where the city’s new high school, Goose Creek Memorial, lands. Most think Memorial will be assigned to what’s left of the current 21-4A after New Caney goes up to 5A and Huffman and Forest Brook drop to 3A. That would put the first-year Patriots in with Barbers Hill, Crosby, C.E. King, Smiley and Galena Park. It’s expected that first-year varsity program Kingwood Park would also start in that league and many projections/guesses have Livingston moving in, too. “Obviously, the easy thing would be to pick up the new Baytown team and Kingwood Park, which will give us seven schools,†Crosby’s Flanigan said. “The eighth school would be either Dayton or Livingston. Dayton coach Jerry Stewart doesn’t have a clue where his school will end up. “I think we’re always the balancer,†he said. “I don’t see us moving, unless they’re going to make it (22-4A) a seven-team district.â€

[PURPLE 4EVER]

We will all find out on Friday...

Looks like Dayton will end up as Coach Stewart said (as the balancer).

[NorthoftheBorder]

Is this all there is to the article or is there more?

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That was it.