UIL Realignment Shakes Up Texas High School Sports

The landscape of Texas high school athletics is set for a seismic shift. On February 2, 2026, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) unveiled its biennial realignment, redrawing the map for football, basketball, and volleyball districts across the Lone Star State for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 seasons. The much-anticipated announcement, which followed months of speculation and careful analysis of student enrollment snapshots from December 2025, promises new rivalries, fresh challenges, and plenty of excitement for student-athletes, coaches, and fans alike.

Every two years, the UIL—Texas’s governing body for public-school sports—reassesses school classifications and district alignments to ensure fair competition among similarly sized schools. This realignment process is more than a bureaucratic shuffle; it’s a major event in the Texas sports calendar, with schools anxiously awaiting their new assignments. As the UIL revealed the new districts at 9 a.m. on Monday, administrators, coaches, and athletes across the state pored over the lists, plotting new paths to district titles and state playoff runs.

In Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend, the influx of four new Class 4A programs has triggered a notable reshuffle. The three CCISD schools—King, Miller, and Moody—along with Corpus Christi London, now join District 30-4A for basketball and volleyball, competing alongside Ingleside, Port Lavaca Calhoun, and Rockport-Fulton. These changes are set to invigorate local competition and introduce new matchups that fans will be eager to see.

Meanwhile, El Paso high schools are experiencing a series of changes that will impact the region’s sports scene for years to come. The most significant move sees Andress High School dropping from Class 5A to Class 4A, with a reported enrollment of 1,272 students. For football, Andress will now face off against Austin, Riverside, Ysleta, and San Elizario in Division 1, while another Class 4A district will feature Clint, Mountain View, Bowie, Irvin, and Fabens in Division 2. The move has been met with enthusiasm in the Andress camp. "We're excited for all the sports programs," Andress football coach Chris Taylor said. "We'll be playing at our enrollment level, it'll be very competitive in Class 4A."

Class 5A in El Paso also sees a shakeup. In Division 1, Horizon, Americas, Bel Air, El Dorado, Hanks, and Parkland make up the district, with Hanks and Horizon joining after playing in Division 2 the previous two years. Hanks coach Scott Veliz expressed optimism about the new landscape: "We're excited to go to Class 5A, Division 1, I thought it was best for our program. There are some good teams in our new district. With 12 teams in Class 5A in El Paso, there was talk of making the two districts six and six and it worked out." In Division 2, Canutillo, Burges, Chapin, El Paso High, Del Valle, and Jefferson will battle it out. Notably, District 1-6A remains unchanged, with Franklin, Coronado, Eastlake, Montwood, Pebble Hills, Socorro, and Eastwood continuing their fierce rivalries.

Elsewhere in Texas, the Brazos Valley is witnessing its own set of realignment ripples. Caldwell drops from Class 4A Division II to Class 3A Division I, while Iola and Lovelady move up from Class 2A Division II to Division I. A&M Consolidated and College Station now find themselves in a nine-team district, thanks to the addition of Killeen and Shoemaker, both moving down from Class 6A. This, in turn, alters Bryan’s district, which now welcomes Killeen Chaparral and Lake Belton. Rudder and Brenham’s district opponents remain the same, but the duo transitions from Region III (District 10) to Region II (District 8). The new football districts for the region, as well as basketball and volleyball alignments, were detailed in the UIL’s comprehensive release, with other sports’ alignments to follow later in the spring.

North Texas is no stranger to high-profile moves, and the 2026 realignment is no exception. Powerhouses Aledo, Frisco Wakeland, Granbury, and Red Oak are all making the leap to Class 6A, while Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Naaman Forest, Lancaster, and Mesquite move down to Class 5A. Celina, Eagle Mountain, Frisco Panther Creek, and Prosper Richland are among those climbing from Class 4A to 5A, setting the stage for some intense new district battles. Aledo and Granbury will compete in District 3-6A, joining forces with five Arlington high schools and Weatherford. Frisco Wakeland’s new home is District 5-6A, which also features Denton Braswell, Denton Guyer, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Hebron, Marcus, and Little Elm. Prosper Walnut Grove, moving up from 5A, joins District 6-6A alongside Allen, Dallas Jesuit, McKinney, McKinney Boyd, Princeton, Prosper, and Prosper Rock Hill. Several other schools, including Edinburg and Garland-area schools, have also moved up to 6A by request.

The Lubbock area is buzzing with change as well. Frenship, Frenship Memorial, Plainview, and Ralls are all entering new classifications. Ralls, notably, is opting up to play 11-man football, a move that will test the mettle of both players and coaches. District 1-3A Division I now includes Brownfield, Bushland, Dalhart, Denver City, and Shallowater, while District 2-2A Division II features Morton, Plains, Ropes, Seagraves, Smyer, and Sudan. Cisco, the reigning Region I-2A D-I champ, moves to Region II, shaking up the competitive balance. Basketball and volleyball are also seeing major changes, with a new 10-team district comprising all Amarillo ISD, Lubbock ISD, Frenship ISD, and Lubbock-Cooper schools. As always, the realignment aims to keep competition fair and schools of similar size facing off, but it also introduces new storylines and potential upsets.

The realignment process isn’t just about the heavyweights. Smaller programs are affected, too. Tornillo High School, for example, did not have full football seasons in 2024 and 2025 and won’t again in 2026 and 2027. Head coach Luis Vega said the team plans to play an independent seven-game schedule in fall 2026, hoping to increase roster numbers above 30 before returning to a full 10-game slate in 2028. Tornillo continues to compete in Class 3A for all other sports, underscoring the unique challenges faced by smaller schools.

With alignments for other sports set to be released later in the spring, the UIL’s 2026 realignment is already sparking debate, anticipation, and plenty of strategic planning across Texas. Coaches and administrators are mapping out new travel routes and scouting unfamiliar opponents, while student-athletes are gearing up for the challenges—and opportunities—that come with fresh competition.

As the dust settles, one thing is certain: the next two years will be anything but predictable. With new districts, fresh rivalries, and the ever-present Texas high school sports spirit, fans can expect plenty of drama on the field and on the court. The action is just beginning, and the road to the playoffs for every team has a brand-new map. Stay tuned—Texas high school sports just got a whole lot more interesting.