The clock starts ticking today.
It is snapshot day for all the high schools around Texas, the time they turn the enrollment numbers in for the University Interscholastic League to use in determining its realignment for the 2022-2024 seasons.
The final configuration will be revealed in the first week of February, though many will have figured it out well before that.
Odessa High and Permian fans won’t have to worry about any changes, the only question whether the Bronchos and Panthers will still be playing six District 2-6A opponents or five for the next two years.
The 2024-26 realignment, however, presents a different scenario all together.
That’s when Class 7A could become a reality for Texas high school athletics, just 10 years after Class 6A was added to the mix.
If Odessa High and Permian want to remain competitive and challenge for state titles in any sport, they need to remain below the 7A cutoff, which likely will be in the 3,000-3,200 student ranges.
Right now, both are well above either number, with Odessa High less than 100 students from 4,000 and Permian above 3,700.
Midland Legacy, Midland High and San Angelo Central all are above 3,000 as well, so you would have some familiar faces during district competition.
After that, straight into the Metroplex against the likes of Euless Trinity, Duncanville, Arlington Martin, South Grand Prairie, etc.
Other schools that would be above the cutoff include Allen, all the Plano schools, all the Katy ISD schools, Galena Park North Shore, etc.
The math is simple, as is the solution.
To stay under the numbers, open two more high schools.
Or, reopen Ector as a high school and build one high school and one middle school.
Make sure the numbers are similar to allow them to face each other each year with playoff implications, along with bragging rights within city limits.
Numbers that would also allow the students to navigate the hallways during passing periods, getting to class on time, instead of looking like salmon swimming upstream every 50 minutes after the bell rings.
Though the rivalries with Midland Legacy and Midland High would be relegated to nondistrict contests, there would be plenty of competition with schools in Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene and El Paso.
Teams that the Bronchos and Panthers have success against each time they meet on the field, court or diamond.
This isn’t saying that Odessa High and Permian don’t have strong athletic programs filled with athletes working their tails off to succeed, with coaches helping them every step of the way.
Or, that the Bronchos or Panthers wouldn’t have success against the bigger schools.
It just wouldn’t be on a consistent basis.
There would be exceptions, such as the Permian boys basketball team’s recent run to the Region I tournament semifinals and championship game before getting eliminated, or Odessa High’s softball team reaching the state semifinals in 2008.
Since Midland Lee’s last championship in 2000, every Class 5A (now Class 6A) crown, except for Abilene High’s Division II crown in 2009, has been won by schools from major metropolitan areas (Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin) in the state.
It’s time for that to change and that time starts now.
