By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal
We’re less than a week away from learning the new athletic districts for the 2026–28 school years.
The University Interscholastic League will unveil its new district alignments Feb. 2 as part of its biannual redistricting and reclassification process.
The Austin Sports Journal continues its preview of UIL realignment by examining Class 5A and how the athletic landscape across the Austin–San Antonio area could take shape over the next two years.
Enrollment numbers and classification cutoffs have already been released, so there’s little mystery about which schools are moving up or down. The real challenge is projecting how the UIL will build the new districts – something that won’t be known with certainty until the official release.
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UIL realignment: Leander ISD holds the cards in shaping Class 6A in the Austin-San Antonio area
With UIL realignment set for Feb. 2, Leander ISD’s five Class 6A schools could reshape district lines across the Austin-San Antonio area. Here are the top scenarios.
What we know
Class 5A will not change dramatically, even with Cedar Park, Leander, Rouse, East View, Hays and Pieper moving up to Class 6A.
There are, however, a few notable shifts. Manor will return to Class 5A for the first time since the 2021–22 season, while new schools New Braunfels Long Creek and Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch will play their first varsity football seasons in the state’s second-largest classification.
Here are several key points to keep in mind heading into Feb. 2:
- Class 5A will be split into two divisions for football during redistricting. All other sports will compete in a single district and split into two divisions before the postseason, similar to Class 6A football.
- The Class 5A enrollment cutoff ranges from 2,214 to 1,305 students. For football, Division I will include schools with enrollments from 1,830 to 2,214, while Division II will range from 1,305 to 1,829.
- There will be 22 Class 5A schools in the Austin–San Antonio area, down from 23 during the 2024–26 cycle.
- The most significant shift is between 5A Division I and Division II. The area will have 13 Division I schools, down from 15 in the last realignment, while Division II will grow to nine schools, up from eight.
Keep an eye on Division I
The Division I split could create geographic challenges when districts are aligned. During the last realignment, Austin–San Antonio schools were spread across three football regions. A similar setup could emerge again, potentially impacting northern Division I schools more than those in the south.
Manor is the clearest fit, lining up naturally with the four Pflugerville ISD schools (Weiss, Hendrickson, Connally and Pflugerville), along with Georgetown and Glenn — the lone remaining Leander ISD school in Class 5A.
The uncertainty comes with Cedar Creek, Anderson, Lehman, Lockhart, McCallum and Smithson Valley.
Smithson Valley has traditionally been grouped in a San Antonio-based Region IV district. With New Braunfels dropping to Division II and Pieper moving up to Class 6A, Smithson Valley, Boerne Champion and Seguin are now positioned as swing schools. That trio could move north to form an eight-team Region IV district with Cedar Creek, McCallum, Anderson, Lehman and Lockhart.
A rivalry reborn?
The Highway 290 rivalry between Manor and Elgin has been dormant for nearly a decade.
Manor moved up to Class 6A during the 2016 realignment before returning to 5A in 2018. However, the division split placed Manor in Class 5A Division I while Elgin landed in Division II, preventing the longtime rivals from sharing a district. The two programs have not met in football since 2015.
Separated by just 12 miles along U.S. Highway 290, it’s likely Manor and Elgin will be placed in the same district for all sports except football, reigniting the rivalry across multiple programs. A football reunion in 2026, however, remains unlikely.
Still, Manor’s return to Class 5A at least opens the door to a future meeting. The series has been evenly split at 5–5 since 2006, with Manor winning the most recent matchup 57–22 in 2015.
How Legacy Ranch and Long Creek fit in
Austin ISD holds significant influence over Class 5A Division II.
LASA, Crockett and Navarro are expected to be grouped together in a football district. Bastrop and Elgin, along with Liberty Hill ISD’s two schools, are likely to join them in a Region III alignment.
Division II appears more geographically straightforward than Division I. While Smithson Valley, Boerne Champion and Seguin serve as outliers in Division I, New Braunfels and Long Creek are expected to land in a San Antonio-based Region IV district alongside Boerne.
