Five Big Country teams on the move after UIL releases realignment cutoff numbers

Most of our area will remain the same, but five schools will make a move up or down in classification after the UIL released 2024-2026 realignment cutoff numbers.

Comanche and TLCA will both move up a class, while Sweetwater, Ballinger and Winters will all drop one.

Comanche will now play in 3A Division I, TLCA Abilene in 2A Division I, Sweetwater in 3A Division, Ballinger in 2A Division I and Winters in 2A Division II.

Sweetwater had a very good last, for now, season of 4A Division II football last season and has a shot at being a big-time contender in 3A Division I. Head coach Russell Lucas said, “It’s something we anticipated. It puts us where we belong with schools that are more our size. Our volleyball coaches may not like it being in with Wall and Jim Ned. I’ll be anxious to see what district they put us in. It could go either direction.” That direction could be in a district way out west the likes of Denver City, or something to the east with Breckenridge, Jim Ned and Clyde.

For the Blizzards, who have had back-to-back one-win seasons in 2A Division I, it’s a chance to compete at a higher level. Head coach Matt McCarty said, “It gets us back down with schools our size. We know we will be in a district with some tough teams, possibly the state champs, but we are ready for the new challenge against some new teams.”

Ballinger has also had a rough stretch as of late, and is coming off the first 0-10 season in school history and first year with no wins since going 0-8-2 in 1976. Head Coach Ty Lang said, "Obviously, I think it’s good for our whole program, but there is still some dang good competition for all of our sports. We’ve got to keep working!”

Some schools close to the cutoff line were Zephyr and Brownwood. The Bulldogs stay in 1A Division II by .5 students, while the Lions stay in 4A DI by 3 students.

Here are the football realignment cutoff numbers:

6A: 2275 and above
5A D1: 1903-2274
5A D2: 1315-1902
4A D1: 957-1314
4A D2: 545-956
3A D1: 369-544
3A D2: 254-368
2A D1: 181.5-253
2A D2: 105-181.4
1A D1: 61.5-104.9
1A D2: 61.4 and below

Realigned districts will be released by the UIL in February.