UIL announces changes to postseason structure for five Graham sports

• (UIL | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) The UIL Legislative Council recently announced the passing of an amendment which will change the postseason structure for volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball and baseball.

The UIL Legislative Council recently announced the passing of an amendment which will change the postseason structure for volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball and baseball.

At a legislative meeting Tuesday, June 11, the council heard a report from the standing committee on athletics regarding proposed adjustments to the playoff structure in these five sports.

The passed amendment is for split divisions once teams reach the playoffs in these five sports. This change would create two state championship brackets for teams to advance through the postseason, similar to the current 6A football championship structure.

According to the proposed amendment, “All schools in the conference would remain in their assigned district per the 2024-26 alignment. For conferences impacted by the proposed modified playoff structure, the top four teams from each district will advance to the playoffs as occurs in the current structure.

“The two advancing schools with the largest enrollments, as submitted in October 2023 are bracketed into Division I and the other two schools are bracketed into Division II, with both divisions playing for separate state championships after district certification.”

These splits will apply to 4A-6A soccer, 1A-6A basketball and 2A-6A volleyball, softball and baseball, with the structure for 1A volleyball and baseball remaining the same.

Based on the enrollment numbers submitted by Graham and its district companions in October 2023, in basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball the school has the fourth largest enrollment out of the six teams in the district: Brock, Brownwood, Glen Rose, Mineral Wells, Stephenville and Graham.

This would mean that Graham would likely always participate in Division II in the postseason, unless two of the three teams with larger enrollments missed the playoffs.

In soccer, the Steers and Lady Blues have different district opponents, but Graham still has the fourth largest enrollment out of just five teams in the district: Bridgeport, Burkburnett, Decatur, Mineral Wells and Graham.

With only five teams in the district and four of them qualifying for the postseason each year, Graham would always compete in Division II in soccer if they made the playoffs.

Another aspect of the postseason that changes with these division splits is the elimination of regional tournaments for volleyball, basketball and soccer and state tournaments in all five sports.

With this new amendment, all postseason rounds will be played at a neutral site agreed upon by the schools involved until the state finals. The championship games in these sports will continue to take place at a site set forth by the UIL.

The council approved the amendment to be effective August 1, 2024, if approved by the Commissioner of Education.

• Sports