The Lake Travis Cavaliers won the last five Class 4A state football championships. But now the University Interscholastic League is bumping up Lake Travis to 5A, the division populated by the state's largest high schools. As the Austin American-Statesman notes, that puts Lake Travis in a district with Westlake, Bowie, Austin High, Anderson, Del Valle and Akins.
Here’s the letter from Lake Travis ISD informing parents of the shift:
February 2, 2012 Dear Lake Travis ISD Parents and Guardians: Lake Travis High School will officially enter Class 5A beginning this fall as announced by the University Interscholastic League (UIL) during its biennial realignment and reclassification meeting held today at the Round Rock Independent School District. UIL member schools are divided into five conferences in accordance with student enrollments in grades 9-12 submitted by each school to the Texas Education Agency in October 2011. Conferences-in order of enrollment-are 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A. In order to participate in Class 5A, a school must have a minimum enrollment of 2,065 students. According to figures submitted by Lake Travis High School, enrollment increased by 302 students between 2010 and 2011, from 1,916 to 2,218. The increase is the fifth-largest reported among Class 4A Central Texas schools. Lake Travis will comprise District 15-5A, Region II along with Akins, Anderson, Austin and Bowie (Austin ISD) high schools, as well as Del Valle and Westlake (Eanes ISD) high schools. "This is an exciting day for our students as well as for the entire Lake Travis community," said Gary Briley, Lake Travis ISD Director of Extracurricular Programs. "We believe the reclassification (to 5A) will have a positive impact on each of our extracurricular program offerings. Academic and fine arts programs like journalism, music, speech and debate, and theatre-not to mention our athletic programs-will only continue to grow and prosper." "Overall, the competition tends to be more balanced when schools compete with other schools of comparable size," said Hank Carter, LTISD Athletic Coordinator and Head Football Coach. "Our kids are excited about moving up and the many opportunities this (reclassification) will create." The LT Cavs enter 5A after winning a record five consecutive football state championships in Class 4A. Since 2007, the Cavs have posted a 10-1 record against 5A schools. The Lady Cavs, winners of back-to-back Class 4A state volleyball titles, are 37-2 against 5A schools since 2009. Several other Lake Travis High School programs including basketball, baseball, tennis and golf have had similar success against 5A competition. For more information, contact the Lake Travis Independent School District Office of Communications at (512) 533-6046. Sincerely, Marco Alvarado Director of Communications, Media & Community Relations
