The University Scholastic League (UIL) held its annual legislative council meeting this past Tuesday, June 14, in Round Rock.
More than one dozen proposals were brought to the committee’s attention with only four being passed.
Topics that had the attention of local coaches included a proposal to change soccer to a fall sport, which would put more of a strain on students who may or may not participate in both sports.
Another proposal was to exclude freshman athletes from competing in varsity competitions. This proposal would impact smaller classification schools in 3A and below as some of them rely on freshmen to help field their teams. The UIL Legislative Council turned away this controversial proposal.
A third proposal was to add a shot clock in high school basketball. The shot clock conversation has come up many times and has pros and cons depending on opinion. This proposal saw no action taken as the council opted not to follow other states, that use the National Federation rules that have chosen to add a shot clock in recent years.
“Every year, there are new ideals and proposals that are brought before the committee to hear and consider. This year, I feel like there is a little more publicity on the matter because it has something that many people are not fond of,” said Granger coach Stephen Brosch before the meeting. “Not too many years ago, freshmen finally broke through and we’re allowed the opportunity to participate at the varsity level. I don’t see our governing body entertaining the ideal to take steps backward in regard to opportunities for student-athletes of all ages.”
The UIL Athletics committee decided in favor of a proposal to codify off-season and summer strength and conditioning changes implemented as a response to COVID-19.
A proposal to update a class and add a class to the list of courses for which there is an exception to the UIL rule that limits enrollment in physical education courses during the school day also passed.
A proposal to increase travel reimbursements for sports officials by $5.00 beginning in the 2022-23 school year and a proposal to establish a 10-year compensation plan for sports officials passed as well.
The Legislative Council will continue to study several proposals including the participation of sixth graders in Class A competition; an adjustment to the process of filing a Prior Athletic Participation Form (PAPF) if the previous school is a private school; allowing a golf assistant to coach on the course during tournament play; and amending junior high track meet start times.
