By Caroline Cooper
Austin Sports Journal

The UIL realignment countdown continues with Austin- and San Antonio-area schools just five days away from learning their new athletic districts for the 2026–28 school years.

The University Interscholastic League will unveil its new district alignments Monday as part of its biannual redistricting and reclassification process.

The Austin Sports Journal continues its UIL realignment preview by examining the 12 Austin ISD schools and how the upcoming changes could impact their athletic departments.

Enrollment numbers and classification cutoffs have already been released, so there’s little mystery about which schools are moving up or down.

For the first time in years, Austin ISD will not opt up any schools by classification or division, a decision that will split its four Class 4A football programs. Historically, Austin ISD has opted up to keep its schools grouped together to reduce travel and costs. This realignment cycle will look significantly different.

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What we know

During the 2010s, Austin ISD consistently opted its schools into Class 5A and 6A despite enrollments to remain unified, a strategy still used by several large urban districts such as Houston ISD and Dallas ISD.

In the last redistricting cycle, Northeast, Travis, Eastside and LBJ declined to opt up to Class 5A and were classified strictly by enrollment. Unless plans change, those four schools will again be split by division, with Northeast, LBJ and Travis in Class 4A Division I and Eastside in Class 4A Division II.

Here’s where Austin ISD schools stand based on announced enrollments and classification cutoffs:

• Austin ISD will not opt up any schools by classification or division, athletic director Jason Glenn confirmed with the Austin Sports Journal Tuesday.
• Bowie, Akins and Austin High exceed the Class 6A cutoff and will be the district’s only 6A programs.
• Anderson, McCallum, LASA, Crockett and Navarro will compete in Class 5A for all sports other than football. Anderson and McCallum fall into Class 5A Division I for football, while LASA, Crockett and Navarro are classified as 5A Division II.
• Travis, LBJ and Northeast are classified as Class 4A Division I in football, while Eastside falls into Class 4A Division II.
• Ann Richards, with an enrollment of 898, will compete in Class 5A. As an all-girls school, its enrollment is doubled for classification purposes.

Changing the Field

For the most part, realignment will bring limited change for Austin ISD. The biggest shift is Eastside dropping to Class 4A Division II in football.

That move could place the Panthers in a district with Manor New Tech, Wimberley, Austin Achieve, Salado, Lago Vista, La Grange and Giddings.

La Grange and Giddings sit in a unique position due to geographical rivals Smithville and Caldwell dropping to Class 3A. Both schools have traditionally been aligned east toward the Houston area, but that could change depending on how districts play out. Eastside remaining in Division II could prove to be a key factor.

The 6A conundrum

There are two primary placement options for Akins, Bowie and Austin High: head north to join Leander ISD’s five schools or move south with Johnson, Hays and Del Valle.

Either option would mark a break from tradition. The three Austin ISD 6A schools have typically been grouped with Westlake, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs. However, the influx of Leander ISD schools into Class 6A could force a shift.

A move north or south would likely create a more balanced district for the Austin ISD programs and could improve overall competitive equity across sports.

Why it matters

Austin ISD programs have shown notable improvement in recent years. Austin High reached the Class 6A volleyball state finals this past season. Eastside posted the first winning football season and playoff appearance in school history. Anderson has won multiple district championships since dropping to Class 5A in 2024, and several other programs across the district are trending upward.

UIL realignment has the potential to reshape that progress. How these changes impact Austin ISD over the next two athletic seasons will be revealed soon.way than normal, but however it works out teams are ready to get out and test the rails of their new competion for the next 2 years.