UIL to continue study of Div. I/II in 3A

[AggiesAreWe]

UIL To Continue Study of Div. 1/2 in 3A

    The University Interscholastic League Policy Committee listened to proposal to divide Class 3A football into two divisions.

    Wary of adding financial burdens to schools the committee chose to recommend continued study on all three items.

    Class 3A football currently has two divisions in the playoffs, but not during the regular season like the system used for Class 1A and 2A. Tatum ISD superintendent Dee Hartt proposed to the Legislative Council that Class 3A football teams be separated into divisions prior to the playoffs an idea which originated from a staff study presented in a 2006 spring Athletics Committee meeting. He cited Class 3A’s disparity between the size of its largest school and its smallest as the reason for the change.

    This is a constant issue for the UIL, which has made Class 3A the state’s smallest classification with 182 football teams in comparison to other conferences that have 200 or more teams. Despite the efforts, 3A football can have a school with 430 students compete against school of 989 students.

    At the June UIL Athletics Committee meeting, the Committee did not vote to approve splitting Class 3A despite a Spring 2011 3A superintendent survey response that was 73 to 70 (51 percent) in favor of using a split conference. The proposal was discussed in both the Athletics and Policy Committees Sunday with the Policy Committee recommending the UIL continuing to monitor.

    “As far as equity it makes sense,” Executive director Charles Breithaupt said. “It’s a question of would be more travel. And you’re going to have more travel.”

    The worry over increased travel had the Policy Committee hesitating. The Committee considered putting an item on a referendum ballot increasing 3A football’s playoff representation to four teams. Director of athletics Mark Cousins even suggested flipping the current divisional representation as a stop-gap measure. This would allow a 3A football district’s two largest playoff representatives participate in Division I, while Division II had the district’s smallest playoff representative. Currently a district’s largest playoff representative goes in Division I, while Division II is the remaining two schools.

[Englebert]

Does this mean that 3A will remain the same for the next 2 years, or is there another chance for them to vote on it before next year?

[AggiesAreWe]

[quote name="Englebert" post="1086132" timestamp="1318878262"]
Does this mean that 3A will remain the same for the next 2 years, or is there another chance for them to vote on it before next year?
[/quote]

It could be voted in at this next realignment.

[Allen Gamble]

Would it just be divided up for football or all sports?

[WOSgrad]

[quote name="Allen Gamble" post="1086313" timestamp="1318887551"]
Would it just be divided up for football or all sports?
[/quote]

If it follows the 2A model, just football.

[liltex]

Off topic but UIL is considering changes to 2 adays practices also :o

[bruno994]

With our impending move back to 3A, I am in favor of this proposal.  It would probably put Buna, HJ, OF, HF all headed North, but should make for a very competitive district.  The spread between us and Silsbee, WO-S and Bridge City is just too much.  Our numbers are a bit out of whack this year thanks to an extremely large freshmen class (over 140, compared to graduating class of '11 with 90).