AUSTIN, Texas — On Tuesday, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) approved the splitting of divisions in the playoffs for non-football sports, which could provide East Texas teams a better opportunity for playoff success.
"It just gives people a chance to play and to compete for championships against schools their own size or closer to it, and it helps level the playing field a little bit. There's some schools that will really see some benefits in deeper playoff runs and planning for state titles the next couple of years that maybe haven't had that chance before," Tyler Morning Telegraph sports writer Brandon Odgen said.
The districts will remain the same based on the UIL realignment that was announced in February. Once playoff's begin, each district will be divided based on enrollment size. The two schools with the highest enrollment will go Division I and the two smaller enrollment schools will go Division II. This format is currently being used in Class 6A football.
"What has affected us with our matchup in the playoffs first of all, we wouldn't have played Forney, we would have played someone else. It was a matchup that needed to take place in the fifth round not the second round. But that would have changed our opponent, which could have changed our path to possibly going further and further," Whitehouse head baseball coach Greg Branch said.
The change result more state champions in basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer, as two state champions will be crowned in each class instead of one.