Stories Inside the Man Cave
Stories Inside the Man Cave
Lets Talk About It: UIL Realignment Day in Austin area
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The map just changed, and with it the path to December. UIL realignment day landed with a thud across Central Texas, and we break down what the new districts mean for coaches, players, and fans who live for Friday nights. From how October snapshot enrollments set the board to why Austin’s explosive growth now supports three full 6A districts, we walk through the logic, the surprises, and the ripple effects that will define the next two seasons.
We’re joined by Anderson head coach and AD Donald Hatcher, whose program drew a heavyweight lane with Smithson Valley and Champion. Coach Hatcher explains what it takes to face a back-to-back 5A Division I state champion, how Anderson leans into identity after consecutive playoff runs, and why “to be the best, you have to beat the best” isn’t just a slogan. We also talk rivalry stakes as McCallum vs Anderson becomes a district decider, plus the calendar puzzle of stadium dates, non-district slots, and the hidden cost of travel weeks.
Beyond the headlines, we zoom out to the strategy that wins realigned seasons: managing depth across gauntlet schedules, owning special teams and field position, and preparing for tie-breakers in districts where five or six playoff-caliber teams chase four tickets. Liberty Hill’s expanded footprint and long hauls to New Braunfels and San Antonio highlight how mileage affects recovery, practice plans, and budgets. Whether your team moved up a class or dodged a buzzsaw, the margin for error just narrowed—and that’s where smart programs find an edge.
If you love Texas high school football, hit follow, subscribe on YouTube, and share this breakdown with your district rivals. Drop your take: which new district is the true gauntlet, and who’s ready to make a run?
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Across the state of Texas involving high school athletics today was one of those days in which coaches, parents, athletes, they anticipate, but they have a little bit of anxiety because it's district realignment day, something that occurs every two years. That first Monday of every February. I am Sean Clinch, the host of Stories Inside the Man K podcast. And coming up next, uh, we're going to take a look mainly at the Austin, Texas area districts. I picked out three storylines, and you can see all of the ATX area realigned districts on our social media, that being Twitter slash X, Instagram, and on Facebook. But we'd also have a guest. He his program was placed into a district who has won back-to-back state championships. UIL Realignment. Let's talk about it. Hey, thanks for watching episode 510. Be sure to follow us on each of our social media pages, the platforms Facebook, IGX, YouTube, and TikTok. And the best thing about subscribing to YouTube, it is free. So take full advantage of that. And we definitely want to give a shout out to we love all of our sponsors and partners, but a big shout out to Honest Plumbing Air or a Handshake. Still means something. Get your HVAC, maintenance serviced, especially how hard we've been running that heater lately, but it's warming up this week, and it did just in time for UIL Realignment Day. Well, it as I mentioned in the open, it happens every two years. The UIL has a thankless job to figure out many factors. We all had an idea of where certain high school programs would be according to their enrollment. You see, every October there is a snapshot day. Um every year before UIL realignment occurs. That snapshot day is the number in which each high school has for their enrollment. They turn it into the UIL, and the UIL develops these cutoff numbers for each classification, 6A all the way down to 1A. And someone, you know, obviously that some classifications have two divisions, like 5A Division 1 and 5A Division II. Well, they have a thankless job because there's going to be people who are unhappy. There's going to be coaches who are thinking, wow, I got to go up a classification and play with those programs, and I'm expected to compete for a playoff spot. I get it. It's just part of the business. It develops or creates a lot of anxiety. Now, here in the Austin area, for the first time ever, there are three 6A districts. Now that should prove to you or you have a better understanding of the growth in the Austin, Texas Metro. It is the 10th largest city in the country, but the suburbs like Pflugerville, Round Rock, Georgetown, Lake Way, Stripping Springs, even Manor, growing at an alarming rate. Round Rock, as you can tell right here on the right, District 256A. Lake Travis and Westlake will be paired with each of the 6A Round Rock high school football programs. Pretty amazing. That has never happened. Other district of note, you've got District 24-6A. Vandergriff, Cedar Park, and Vista Ridge of the Leander School District, including Leander and Rouse. They're paired with Georgetown Eastview, who goes is at 6A, while Georgetown remains at 5A, and of course Huddo remains at 6A. So what happened with the programs in class 5A in Division I and II classifications? One word, a lot. And one program will be paired with a program closer to San Antonio and has won multiple state championships. Let's talk to the head coach of the Anderson Trojans. That's about the third time, correct?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:At least man, Donald Hatcher, the uh Anderson Trojans, head football coach in AD, coming off back-to-back playoff seasons. Before we show the graphic of the UIL realignment for your program, how can you sum it up in maybe a few words? Sum it up on what you're what you think about this new realignment.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, it's gonna be a lot of travel, but very competitive district. It's gonna be a lot of fun. I mean, we're in there with back-to-back state champ, Smith and Valley. So, Bernie Champion, Maynard, I mean, Lockhart, some guys that we've been around. So it's gonna be a fun, fun district. I mean, like I said, a lot of travel, but I mean, I like it.
SPEAKER_02:No, I love it a lot. And just want to tell everybody take a look at this piece of video that you see, and you get an idea of what the Trojans now have to run through if they are to win another district championship.
SPEAKER_00:For the second straight year, the state championship trophy will run US 281. Who are the communities of Spring Bridge and Bull Verde and those in the area as the Smithson Valley Rangers are back to back 5A Division I state champions of Texas?
SPEAKER_02:All right, here are here's your new district, 13th 5A Division I. You get your old rivals back as a district opponent, the McCallum Knights, but what that video you just saw was of the back-to-back state champion Smith Smithson Valley Rangers. You just alluded to them, and when I texted you earlier when this first came out at about 9 15 this morning, you said, bring it, we're excited, we we wouldn't have it any other way. You look at this district, man.
SPEAKER_03:You at some point you gotta face a team of that pedigree, right? Yeah. I mean, uh last year getting those wins over college station, ain't them consolidated. It showed everybody that uh we can go win those big games. So uh to be the best, you gotta beat the best. So I look at Bernie Champion and Smith and Valley. I mean, Smith Valley's they're they're winners. I mean, they're quiet winners too. Nobody ever gave them a chance to go beat Alito or uh Lone Star. So they know what it's like to go out and prove everybody wrong. I mean, I don't think anybody picked Smith and Valley the last two years to win state, and they won it both years, so you gotta have a lot of respect for them.
SPEAKER_02:100%. They, you know, they've been a program who's they they're a they're an annual power. I mean, they're a power, but the last two years were their first two state championships. What other notable now the McCallum game, now that it's a district game again, do you think you guys will still open up with them and then now we can't tackle Shaq Bowl?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it it the Show Creek Showdown will be uh, I can't remember the date, but we can't play at week one. Um and we were trying to get it week 10, and because of uh stadium constraints and stuff like that, we weren't able to get it there. But I mean, everybody, everybody's still gonna show up. It's still gonna be the show creek showdown, McCallum Anderson, so it didn't matter where you put that game. I'm sure all of uh Northwest Hills is gonna be there.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, but no doubt, and uh both all the neighborhoods tied to McCallum, it'll still be one of the best games of Austin Independent School District. Uh, what other notables about this district you like? I mean, the travel, I mean, I only see Bernie, Smithson Valley, and and maybe Sageen. Now, Sageen is a program that's has potential. Uh Maynard was once a 6A program. Um, you know the talent level there. And you Lockhart, your your former defensive coordinator or one of the your assistants, is entering his second year as a head coach there.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah. I mean, it's uh I mean you look at McCallum, I mean Lockhart, man, I mean Segin, they they've all got talent out there. So I mean, we can't we can't go in and be like, all right, we you know we beat him last year. We gotta go in the same mentality as this district doesn't really know who we are still. I mean, right just because we went to the playoffs back to back years, you got to reestablish identity every year until it's uh until you're just known for going to the playoffs every year.
SPEAKER_02:That's right. Um, one thing I noticed since you do have a large district, that really helps you as an AD and coach because you don't have to worry about many non-district games and picking those up. Are you still working on that?
SPEAKER_03:Well we'll play uh But a Johnson week one out there, and we'll play Plickerville High in uh at home at House Park.
SPEAKER_02:Man, this is uh how would you describe this day? A UIO realignment every two years, what is it like for head coach?
SPEAKER_03:Go in with the mindset, you're gonna be disappointed. All the projections and everything comes out. I mean, after I got I wasn't disappointed, but it's uh to be put in that far south with Smith the Valley and Barty Champion. I mean, that's that's a little different, but I mean we'll go to region four uh instead of region three or region two. So that uh that definitely puts a lot of more travel in it. But uh when you look at that other district from last year, you're gonna have five teams, really six teams. I mean, pr pretty much every team in that Weiss, College Station AM, consolidated, Kaleen Shoemaker, Georgetown. Uh that's a gauntlet now. I mean, it was it was it was the gauntlet last last two years, but there's five teams, six teams in there that made the playoffs, and two of them are gonna be left out.
SPEAKER_02:Some good teams in that other district who will who could make noise in the playoffs won't make the playoffs. Uh I think every coach in uh in the state of Texas right now is uh sighing a sense of relief because this is over, the drama, all the uh enrollment numbers that uh everybody thought where programs would go. Now you know. But the good be a lot of open jobs tomorrow. Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_03:There there's about a hundred coaches I could probably say, like, oh, why did we get go this way?
SPEAKER_02:So that's funny. That's the beauty of the unknown on UIL realignment day. Brother, much love and I appreciate you guys. Hey, anytime, man. I'll see you soon. Yep, Donald Hatcher keeping it real and representing uh the high school football coaches across the state, in particular, Austin, and they all feel the same sentiment. And I can uh attest to that. I've been to uh a few of those UIL realignment day meetings at uh the designated district centers. Uh, you have coaches honestly not from the locale, they will come to the meeting in search of non-district components. The beauty of for programs like Anderson in a big district, and it's a big convenience for teams who are in large districts, that you don't have to schedule many non-district components. That's the the the advantage there, uh a pro, but it also means that the bigger your district, the more teams get left out of the playoffs because only the top four make it. Now, I do want to highlight a profile of one more district, uh, another 5A district or two, if you will, um that requires or will require a lot of travel. And it's right here. Now, district 13, 5A Division II on the right, um, you notice the new high school or in Liberty Hill. So we got Liberty Hills Legacy Ranch over there by uh Highway 29 and 183 and Liberty Hill. Then you've got Bernie. So Bernie Champion is in 5A Division I, but Bernie High School is in 5A Division II. Just so you guys know, if you're not aware, these divisions are determined, or the programs are determined by enrollment cutoffs. How it works. But check this out the Liberty Hill schools and Bernie have to travel to New Bronfels and San Antonio. Not a big ass for Bernie, but think about where Liberty Hill is on the map. They are north-northwest of Austin. That's a trek to both New Brunfels and San Antonio. Now the district on the left, 125A Division II, it's basically AISD schools. Um paired up with Bastrop Elgin and Flugerville Original, Flugerville High School, Charlie Taylor's group. Regardless of how anxiety-inducing it may be, whenever you have an opportunity to discuss UIL realignment, it's always good to talk about it.