Alice High School’s enrollment was just four students above the 5A cutoff, according to the University Interscholastic League conference numbers announced Tuesday.
That means while Alice will remain in Class 5A, the program could be one of the smallest statewide in the classification. At the same time, the UIL’s conference cutoff numbers also mean the 5A football landscape in South Texas is changing, and that has the Coyotes’ district for at least the next two years up in the air for now.
Based on the cutoff numbers, longtime district opponents Calallen and Tuloso-Midway are dropping to Class 4A. Port Lavaca-Calhoun, who Alice faced in district play in the last two years, is also falling to 4A.
With the Corpus Christi ISD football teams in Class 5A, Div. I, that leaves only Alice, Gregory-Portland and Flour Bluff as the only 5A, Div. II teams in the area. The only other 5A, Div. II teams in South Texas are in the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and San Antonio, so the district possibilities are vast.
The exact make-up of the district won’t be known until the UIL’s reclassifications and district realignments are announced in February.
Alice athletic director and head football coach Kyle Atwood said whatever football district the Coyotes end up in will be competitive.
“I think obviously, the district is going to be different than what it’s been previously,” Atwood said. “It could be more travel, at least for football. We’ll wait and see how it turns out. We were in a very tough district for the last two years. I expect whatever district we end up in will also be very strong.”
According to the UIL, the Class 5A enrollment cutoff was 1,210. Alice’s enrollment was 1,214. Calallen’s enrollment was 1,187 and Tuloso-Midway’s was 1,155.
Football has the biggest district shakeup since each classification has a two-division format. Every other sport competes in a single division, so the districts for those sports are more geographically based.
UIL CONFERENCE CUTOFF NUMBERS FOR 2020-2022 REALIGNMENT
Class 6A: 2,220 and above
Class 5A: 1,210 to 2,219
Class 4A: 515 to 1,209
Class 3A: 230 to 514
Class 2A: 105 to 229
Class 1A: 104.9 and below
FOOTBALL DIVISION I AND DIVISION II NUMBERS
Class 5A Division I: 1,900 to 2,219
Class 5A Division II: 1,210 to 1,899
Class 4A Division I: 865 to 1,209
Class 4A Division II: 515 to 864
Class 3A Division I: 350 to 514
Class 3A Division II: 230 to 349
Class 2A Division I: 165.5 to 229
Class 2A Division II: 105 to 165.4
Class A Division I: 59.5 to 104.9
Class A Division II: 59.4 and below