LBJ, Anderson, Weiss among Austin area schools to see changes to UIL districts this fall

Big changes are expected for LBJ and many other Austin-area high schools when the UIL releases its biennial realignment and reclassification for the state's public high schools on Thursday.

More than 100 area coaches will flock to Kelly Reeves Stadium in the morning to learn their district status for the next two years. It also will give them an opportunity to set nondistrict schedules with fellow coaches who'll be there.

The UIL will post the information Thursday morning. District alignments will be released for basketball and volleyball, too.

A big impact is expected for Austin district schools

Among the area schools that should see a shift in district alignment and reclassification will be LBJ, a small school that will be shifted from Class 5A Division II back down to Class 4A Division I. Also, Travis, Northeast and Eastside will compete in Class 4A beginning in August. According to UIL numbers released in December, LBJ's enrollment is 773, Travis is at 1,107.5, Northeast is at 1,226 and Eastside is at 694.

"We know about the schools in our district, but there is an unknown as to who else we'll be playing," Travis football coach Joe Frank Martinez said.

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Meanwhile, Anderson (enrollment 2,167) will say goodbye to its district with Lake Travis, Dripping Springs and Westlake by dropping from Class 6A to Class 5A.

Movement for other Austin-area schools

One school that should get a break in athletics is Leander (2,270), which should be shifting from Class 6A to 5A. Some area coaches were surprised that the UIL will begin Class 6A at 2,275 students. Two years ago Leander barely escaped being placed in a district with much larger neighboring schools such as Round Rock (3,882), Cedar Ridge (2,898), Stony Point (2,769) and Westwood (2,834).

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Weiss (1,994) also should drop from Class 6A to 5A. The Wolves had a fine season last year in 6A, going 9-2 in football but losing to Cedar Hill (2,635) in the first round of the playoffs. The drop down to 5A also should help the school's travel budget. For the past two years, Weiss has had to travel to places such as Waco, Harker Heights, Killeen, Bryan, Temple and Copperas Cove.

Our UIL realignment coverage

Follow our UIL realignment and reclassification coverage Thursday on statesman.com, where Colby Gordon and Rick Cantu will break down the Austin-area's new districts and how schools were impacted.

UIL enrollment cutoffs for 2024-25

∙ Class 6A: 2,275 or more students

∙ Class 5A Division I: 1,903-2,274

∙ Class 5A Division II: 1,315-1,902

∙ Class 4A Division I: 957-1,314

∙ Class 4A Division II: 545-956

∙ Class 3A Division I: 369-544

∙ Class 3A Division II: 254-368

∙ Class 2A Division I: 181.5-253

∙ Class 2A Division II: 105-181.4

∙ Class A: 61.5-104.9

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: UIL realignment and reclassification will change Austin-area districts