By Kevin Lonnquist
NTX Varsity Sports Columnist
Mildred athletics is used to this yo-yo experience when it comes to the classification ladder.
That’s exactly what it is. For the second time in as many realignments, Mildred is moving classifications. It’s returning to Class 3A Division II. Two years ago, it slid back from 3A Division II to Class 2A Division I.
On Aug. 1, the move becomes official. This follows the UIL’s announcement from this past December when the cutoff numbers were announced. By just a few students, Mildred climbed.
What’s turbulent about this move is how close something like this can be. The floor for 3A Division II is 246. Mildred submitted 255.
“From every chat line I was reading,’’ Mildred head football coach and athletic director Jeff Callahan said, “it looked like the UIL was going to drop the [Class 3A Division II number]. We felt like we would be going up.’’
Back in the day, no one knew anything about classification or district until that first Tuesday of February. That’s when the UIL switched on the strobe lights. Once the shock subsided, coaches and administrators panicked to find games or lay out any kind of roadmap in how they needed to prepare for the upcoming arrangement.
In anything, information and transparency are key. The UIL recognized the last-second surprise did more to inflict harm on its member schools rather than helping them.
When Texas’ governing body for high school athletics introduced the December announcement of the cutoff numbers in 2013 before the 2014 realignment, it provided relief. It has been operating this way ever since.
To be sure, the December announcement killed the buzz of early February. Coaches like Callahan, who are always part of a school that can be going either way every two years, could have cared less.
“The guess was over and you knew where you were going,’’ Callahan said. “So let’s get going.”
For football, Mildred is moving into District 11-3A in Region III with Blooming Grove, Buffalo, Elkhart, Rice and Teague. The Eagles will be the smallest school in the district. Blooming Grove and Buffalo are slightly higher but also less than 300 students.
The other sports are in Region II. They are in District 16-3A with Blooming Grove, Grandview, Keene, Maypearl, Palmer, Rice and Rio Vista.
Volleyball will start on Aug. 1. Football opens fall workouts on Aug. 3.
What’s interesting for Mildred is that one class surge changed everything. Typically, a class size is in the high 50s to low 60s. However, the class of 2029 has more than 90, a 50 percent jump.
No matter the move up, it’s always going to be about numbers. Fortunately, Mildred has seen this movie.
“The biggest difference in 3A is for sub-varsity and the junior highs,’’ Callahan said. “Every school you play in all the sports has at least a JV or maybe two. For football, that’s great for our sub-varsity teams getting more games.’’
Eagle likely will have a decent chance to advance to the playoffs. The other sports are going to have to be at their best for every district match. Grandview has had a history of being strong throughout all its sports. The same goes for Blooming Grove and Maypearl.
Of course, Mildred enjoyed similar success in 2025-26. All its team sports between football, volleyball, boys and girls basketball, softball and baseball made the postseason. Keep in mind boys golf won the 2A state championship. There’s always an advantage for an athletics department that has a well-rounded history and commitment.
The good news for every coach on this staff and the athletes is that they have had eight months to prepare.
Callahan is expected to carry 60 in his football program. That’s not a bad number when nearly one-fourth of your high school is playing. He should have one junior varsity to complement his varsity.
Where he needs to make the inroads is at the junior high. When school starts next month, there are about 26 on that roster. That’s only good enough for one team. By recruiting the halls, he hopes to have two. That’s where a program becomes stronger and forms its foundation.
Well, some of that foundation started when the school went through the on-campus UIL-sponsored performance course. Coaches could supervise the workouts.
Like any program, a challenging non-district schedule will help each program anticipate the demands of a district season. It isn’t so much how Mildred will perform in the first half of the district season. Where Mildred will need to show its depth and resolve is when that district season moves into the second half and fighting for a playoff spot is on the line.
“I have now had the pleasure of two years at 3A and two years at 2A and now back to 3A for the next two,’’ Callahan said. “It’s all a grind. Work is work. And we all have a house full of coaches and athletes that don’t mind the work.’’
