At daybreak today, Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his cave, and his shadow will supposedly predict the weather for the next six weeks.

Shortly after daybreak Monday, Lubbock’s Class 5A schools emerged from the shadow of Midland and Odessa, and the University Interscholastic League as a whole gave Lubbock ISD a lot more sunshine in the future.

The governing body of high school extracurricular activities in the state released its biennial reclassification and realignment of districts for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years, and Lubbock came out in perhaps the best possible shape it could. Coronado, Monterey and Lubbock High will no longer be in a district with the larger Midland and Odessa schools, while Estacado and Cooper will no longer have to trek to the top of the Panhandle for district games, trading Borger, Perryton and Dalhart for Brownfield, Lamesa and Shallowater, which was elevated to 3A.

“I think it’s probably best for the kids,” Coronado coach Butch Henderson said. “From a personal standpoint, I enjoyed the war every week and knowing it’s playoff time for nine straight weeks, but for the kids this is a better deal. I really thought we would stay 10 teams and keep our schedules with the 4As, but it went the other way and (the UIL) had the bigger picture in mind.”

District 2-5A was realigned to resemble how it was during the 2006-08 alignment when it consisted of Amarillo, Tascosa, Lubbock High, Coronado, Monterey and San Angelo Central. Of those six, only Amarillo made the postseason last year, and under the old 2-5A, only Amarillo and Lubbock High won a district game against any of the four Midland-Odessa schools.

Lubbock’s and Amarillo’s schools will also be some of the smallest Class 5A schools in the state. The bottom cutoff number for 5A classification was lowered – an unusual move for the UIL – from 2,085 to 2,065, the first time the 4A-5A cutoff has been lowered. That’s what kept the Amarillo schools and Lubbock High in 5A instead of dropping down to 4A.

The bottom number of 4A rose, but only by 10, from 980 to 990. All other minimum numbers remained unchanged from the last realignment.

“The best scenario would have been for Lubbock High to get into one of those 4A districts,” LHS coach Mike Speck said. “But now we at least have a fighting opportunity. Tascosa and Amarillo are closer to our numbers, and it preserves the inner-city rivalries. It’s good for travel, good for kids and good for Lubbock High. Now you’re not getting your lungs beat in every week, and it had become a morale issue.”

By moving the bottom number of 5A down, though, the UIL created a glut in 4A, and that affected Frenship and Plainview. Gone are Abilene Cooper (to 5A), San Angelo Lake View and Big Spring (to 3A), and now the Tigers and Bulldogs will head north to face Caprock, Palo Duro, Canyon, Randall, Dumas and Hereford in an eight-team district.

“That was our first option,” Plainview coach Marcos Hinojos said. “Everybody in both districts felt this was what was going to happen. We’ve been playing (the Panhandle teams) for years and it’s always a competitive game with those teams. It’s a big district, but without Abilene Cooper there, I’m OK with it. I’d much rather be up there.”

The expected drop of Pampa and Big Spring to 3A also helped form a better district for Estacado and Cooper in terms of competition and travel in 3A. And because the UIL did not move the bottom number of 3A (400), Shallowater, which turned in 433, was elevated to 3A, forming a district where the longest trip for any school will be about an hour, as opposed to some of the three-to-four-hour journeys Lubbock teams and Levelland were having to make when heading north.

Of the six teams formed to make 2-3A, only Estacado reached the postseason in football last season.

“This is probably the best travel situation we’ve had in a lot of years,” Cooper coach John Windham said. “And we’re in a six-team district, which is a lot better than a four-team. I was pleased with how it came out, but picking up Shallowater will be a big chore for us in all sports. I’m happy with what we have this year.”

As much as the UIL helped 5A-3A on the South Plains, it did no favors for 2A.

This coming school year will be the first that Class 2A will be split into divisions for football before the season instead of after the regular season to determine playoff participants. That severely breaks apart the previous districts in the area and creates new ones with enormous amounts of travel.

District 1-2A could be the most competitive in the state, lumping together a 2008 state champion (Muleshoe), a 2009 state semifinalist (Bushland), a surprise program from last season (River Road) and what is expected to be a strong Littlefield team together with Childress, Friona, Roosevelt and Slaton.

“It surprised us a lot,” said Roosevelt coach Greg Poynor, who two years ago led the Eagles three rounds deep in the postseason. “They talked about trying to not have so many big districts and trying to make them smaller, but we still ended up in an eight-team district. The teams playing in this district will be very competitive.”

Both Poynor and Littlefield coach Bryan Huseman voted against the divisional split when the item came up for vote from the UIL, and with only two teams from each district qualifying for the playoffs now instead of three, they both say they’d vote against it again.

“And to top that off, we’re in an eight-team district, which we never dreamed they’d do,” said Huseman, whose team lost to River Road in the area round this past season. “We thought probably we’d be going north but that it would be a six-team district, but throwing us into an eight-team district is pretty tough. I’m not blaming (the UIL) for what they did, that’s just the district we happened to fall into.”

Also in Division I, Denver City was separated from the area and now will be in a district with Alpine, Colorado City, Crane, Kermit, San Angelo Grape Creek and Wall.

In Division II, Abernathy remained in 2A after speculation the Antelopes might drop, and they were placed in a district with Highland Park, Dimmitt, Floydada, Sanford-Fritch, Spearman and Tulia. The real losers in Division II, though, are Idalou and Post, which now have to travel to Anson, Coahoma, Forsan, Hawley and Stanton for district games.

“I was a little surprised we went that direction,” Idalou coach Johnny Taylor said. “Abernathy staying in 2A I guess kicked us to the south, and I figured there’d be some travel involved, so we were prepared for that. We’ll scrimmage Shallowater and we picked up Littlefield for one of our pre-district games, so we’ll still be playing some of those guys. But for us and Post these are completely new names. I don’t know much about any of those teams so we may be doing some digging to find out about them.”

Even though Class 1A was split as well, there were no earth-shattering districts formed. Lockney will now have to go north to face Clarendon, Panhandle and Quanah in District 2 of Division I, while Hale Center, New Deal, Olton, Sundown and Tahoka will form District 3. Crosbyton and Ralls moved to Region II in District 7 with Hamlin, Roby, Roscoe and Rotan.

In Division II, Anton, which forfeited much of its past season in 11-man because of dwindling numbers, remains in 1A and in a district with Morton, Plains, Seagraves and Smyer (District 4). Springlake-Earth and Sudan are now in District 3 with Bovina, Farwell and Nazareth.

Six-man stayed mostly the same, with one major exception. The introduction of the Lubbock Harmony Science Academy, a collegiate preparatory charter school that emphasizes mathematics, science and computer applications, threw a kink in some plans. HSA will compete in UIL for the first time and was paired in District 4 of Division I with Meadow, Ropes, Wellman-Union and Whiteface.

New area districts

Moving the numbers

A look at the UIL biennial reclassification enrollment numbers that determined which schools fell into certain classifications:

• 5A: 2,065 and up

• 4A: 990-2,064

• 3A: 430-989

• 2A: 200-429

• 1A: 199 and below (99.9 and below for six-man)A look at the new area districts after the UIL on Monday announced its 2010-12 reclassification and realignment:

FOOTBALL

Class 5A

• District 2-5A: Amarillo, Coronado, Lubbock High, Monterey, Tascosa, San Angelo Central

Class 4A

• District 3-4A: Canyon, Caprock, Dumas, Frenship, Hereford, Palo Duro, Plainview, Randall

Class 3A

• District 2-3A: Brownfield, Cooper, Estacado, Lamesa, Levelland, Shallowater

• District 4-3A: Andrews, Fort Stockton, Midland Greenwood, Monahans, Seminole

• District 5-3A: Abilene Wylie, Big Spring, Brownwood, Snyder, Sweetwater

Class 2A

Division I

• District 1-2A: Bushland, Childress, Friona, Littlefield, Muleshoe, River Road, Roosevelt, Slaton

• District 2-2A: Alpine, Colorado, Crane, Denver City, Kermit, San Angelo Grape Creek, Wall

Division II

• District 1-2A: Abernathy, Dimmitt, Floydada, Highland Park, Sanford-Fritch, Spearman, Tulia

• District 2-2A: Anson, Coahoma, Forsan, Hawley, Idalou, Post, Stanton

Class 1A

Division I

• District 2-1A: Clarendon, Lockney, Panhandle, Quanah

• District 3-1A: Hale Center, New Deal, Olton, Sundown, Tahoka

Division II

• District 3-1A: Bovina, Farwell, Nazareth, Springlake-Earth, Sudan

• District 4-1A: Anton, Morton, Plains, Seagraves, Smyer

• District 7-1A: Crosbyton, Hamlin, Ralls, Roby, Roscoe, Rotan

Six-Man

Division I

• District 1-IA: Follett, Hart, Kress, McLean, Valley

• District 2-IA: Chillicothe, Crowell, Paducah, Vernon Northside

• District 3-IA: Lorenzo, Petersburg, Southland, Spur

• District 4-IA: Lubbock Harmony Science Academy, Meadow, Ropes, Wellman-Union, Whiteface

• District 5-IA: Borden County, Grady, Klondike, O’Donnell, Sands

Division II

• District 3-IIA: Amherst, Cotton Center, Lazbuddie, Whitharral

• District 4-IIA: Guthrie, Motley County, Patton Springs, Silverton

• District 5-IIA: Dawson, Loop, New Home, Wilson

BASKETBALL

Class 2A

• District 2-2A: Abernathy, Dimmitt, Floydada, Friona, Idalou, Littlefield, Muleshoe, Tulia

• District 3-2A: Coahoma, Colorado, Denver City, Forsan, Roosevelt, Post, Slaton, Stanton

Class 1A

Division I

• District 4-IA: Crosbyton, Hale Center, Lockney, New Deal, Ralls

• District 5-IA: Bovina, Farwell, Olton, Springlake-Earth, Sudan

• District 6-IA: Morton, Plains, Seagraves, Smyer, Sundown, Tahoka

Division II

• District 2-IIA: Happy, Hart, Kress, Lazbuddie, Nazareth, Silverton

• District 5-IIA: Amherst, Anton, Cotton Center, Petersburg, Whiteface, Whitharral

• District 6-IIA: Guthrie, Jayton, Motley County, Paducah, Patton Springs, Spur, Valley

• District 7-IIA: Lorenzo, Lubbock Harmony Science Academy, Meadow, New Home, Ropes, Southland, Wilson

• District 8-IIA: Borden County, Dawson, Grady, Loop, Klondike, O’Donnell, Sands, Wellman-Union