Takeaways from UIL’s classification cutoff numbers: Highland Park joining 6A, Argyle to 5A and more

Six-time football state champion Highland Park is moving up to Class 6A. Eleven-time Lone Star Cup winner Argyle will be joining 5A.

And 10-time state champion Aledo and 2021 state semifinalist Mansfield Summit are changing divisions within 5A.

Those are the big takeaways from Wednesday, when the University Interscholastic League announced its classification cutoff numbers for February’s biennial realignment.

Highland Park’s enrollment of 2,245.5 was just above the 6A cutoff line of 2,225. Highland Park, which is currently the state’s second-largest 5A school, will be joining the UIL’s top classification for the first time since the 2014 (fall)-2016 (spring) realignment cycle.

“It’s always close with us,” Highland Park ISD athletic director Johnny Ringo said. “I looked at the total numbers this morning, the list of schools, and there are seven [in 6A] that are smaller than us, and two of those are opt-ups. We’re always either going to be right at the top of 5A or one of the smallest 6As. I think prior to 2014, 2015, the last time Highland Park was [in the top classification] was in the late ‘80s maybe.”

Highland Park hovered around the 6A cutoff line for the last three realignments but always barely stayed in 5A. Highland Park was 11 students under the 6A cutoff number two years ago.

Highland Park has won three of the last four Class 5A Lone Star Cups, which recognizes the best overall athletic and academic programs in Texas. Highland Park won state titles in team tennis and boys golf last school year while placing among the top five at state in marching band, academics and girls cross country.

“We feel like we’re one of the top 5A programs in the state, and our goal has always been these last few years to try to play the top 6A programs that we can from a competition standpoint in each of our programs,” Ringo said. “We do the same with all of our sports, just to try to understand and have our kids understand what it takes to compete at that highest level.

“Depending on which district we’re put in, it could mean less travel for us because of not having to go as far east as we went this past couple of years with Longview and Tyler.”

Argyle, which produced five state championships and two state runner-up finishes last school year to win the Class 4A Lone Star Cup, fell 42 students above the 5A cutoff line of 1,300 and will play in 5A Division II for football. Argyle, the 2020 4A Division I state champion in football, saw its enrollment rise dramatically over the last two years, increasing from 1,051 to 1,342.

Argyle football coach Todd Rodgers said his school has already been given the go-ahead to start staffing for being a 5A school.

“It’s been expected. We knew growth was happening in Argyle and that we needed to up our game,” Rodgers said.

Aledo, which won the previous three 5A Division II state titles in football, will be moving up to 5A Division I with an enrollment of 2,090. That will place Aledo in the same division as powerhouses Denton Ryan, Frisco Lone Star, College Station, Crosby and Lubbock Cooper. Cooper and Crosby, both 5A Division II state semifinalists this season, are moving up to 5A Division I.

Mansfield Summit, in the 5A Division I state semifinals for the second straight year, will move down to 5A Division II for football with an enrollment of 1,922.5. That wasn’t the only change for Mansfield ISD, as Mansfield Legacy is moving up from 5A to 6A after its enrollment rose from 2,205.5 to 2,467. Legacy is currently the state’s third-largest 5A school.

Two of the area’s fastest-growing schools were Royse City and North Forney, which are both moving up from 5A Division II to 6A. Royse City’s enrollment increased from 1,904 to 2,233.5, and North Forney’s enrollment rose from 1,894 to 2,292.

Skyline will remain the only 6A school among Dallas ISD’s 22 high schools. Its enrollment of 4,297 makes it the sixth-largest 6A school in the Dallas area behind Allen (7,102), Plano East (5,514), Plano West (5,333), Plano (4,694) and Duncanville (4,642).

Allen, the state’s largest school, continues to grow. Its enrollment for the current alignment was 6,959.

Melissa, which reached a regional final in Class 4A Division I for football this season, is moving up to 5A and will play in Division II for football. Melissa will be joined in its new division by Midlothian Heritage, which was one of the area’s top 4A schools this year.

Melissa saw a tremendous amount of growth over the last two years, going from an enrollment of 971 to 1,317.

“We kind of figured it would go that way,” Melissa football coach Matt Nally said. “Our town is growing, and our community is excited about the growth. We’re excited about getting to play in a larger division. Our kids were pretty pumped about it when they found out.”

What will be the biggest challenges of being in a larger classification?

“I would say probably depth,” Nally said. " I’ve been in Melissa for seven years, and this is the first year that I can say that we’ve really had depth. Looking at 5A schools, they have so many kids involved. And there are going to be a lot more schools with a lot more talent in regard to just overall talent. Melissa has a ton of talent, and we will next year and the years beyond, but just playing schools with an equal amount of talent [will be a challenge].”

2022-24 preliminary UIL realignment numbers

Note: Divisions are only used for football. Class 6A splits into divisions once the playoffs start. Number of schools listed is for football.

Source: UIL

Biggest schools in the state

Source: UIL

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