When the University Interscholastic League released the cutoff numbers that put member schools into classifications and districts Dec. 16, Marble Falls athletic director Keri Timmerman said his first glance revealed a truth.
'I think that it's like anything else right now with declining enrollment in a lot of the schools and what we're seeing across the state,' he said. 'The drop in numbers a little bit doesn't surprise me.'
Nor was it a surprise that Marble Falls, which submitted 1,172, will remain in Class 4A for the third consecutive cycle. The cutoff numbers for Class 4A are 550-1,304. The Mustangs football program will stay in Class 4AS Division I that includes schools with enrollments of 896-1,304.
'We're kind of where we fit right now as a whole,' Timmerman said. 'We're one of the larger 4A schools in the in the area, but it's also based on demographics.
We're really not filled with the capacity the way other schools are selected. We have less kids to play sports as a whole, compared to other districts that have more. Even though they have a smaller enrollment, they have more kids involved in those things. I think we fit right where we need to. And if we're in (Class) 5A we'd be excited to go play 5A. But I think with our numbers and where we're at athletics wise, I'm happy with being in 4A. I think it fits us.'
That led to another inquiry that has come to Timmerman.
'I've been getting calls and questions on where do we think we're going to go? And what district will we be in?' he said. 'It's really impossible to tell.'
He recalled driving to Austin in 2024, about 30 days into his current role, when his phone rang.
One caller told him the Mustangs were going to be in a district with most of the members located in the capital city. Another called to say Marble Falls was going to remain in the current district it had played in with Fredericksburg, San Antono Davenport and someone else.
'When I get there, we go to (Class 4A Division I) Region I,' he said. 'I just think that anybody that's saying this is what's going to happen doesn't know, and it's so hard to guess because the UIL looks at the bigger picture that we don't always have all the information.'
That's why the Mustangs and Lady Mustangs have a clear directive.
'What I try to focus on is just what I can control right now, which is 'hey, we're going to be somewhere in a district with someone and we're going to play our tails off, as hard as we can, to get in the playoffs. How do we get our kids ready for whomever shows up?'' the athletic director said. 'Being in Region I and going back with Stephenville or going to an Austin district? Because there's going to be talent in Austin, too. (Austin) LBJ is a tough team, so I think we just have to focus on our offseason.'
While UIL members get very little say in the districts they're aligned into, coaches have a big say on which teams their squads face in the pre-district season. Timmerman said he spends more time considering those opponents than thinking about district realignment.
He noted the Mustangs played Llano, which lost in the Class 3A Division I state semifinals to Yoakum, which
won the state title Dec. 18, La Vernia, which lost to Kilgore in the Class 4A Division I state semifinals, Austin Crockett
and San Antonio Brackenridge, two schools in larger classifications, the last two years.
'(Llano) was a 3A that made us better, right? That was a competitive school that beat us,' he said. 'There were 5A teams that we beat. You try to find who is going to give your team what you need to develop and be ready for your district play. And so that's what we look at. So we try to look at, not the (classification) number necessarily as much as who we're playing and what that gives us on the football side.
He added that he does have one hope when it comes to realignment – that all Marble Falls sports are in the same region.
'Right now we're in five different districts for soccer, football, team tennis, baseball, basketball, you know, all those things,' the athletic director said. 'So we struggle with that right now. We're spread out all over the place. Whereas some places and 4A schools, they're in one district and they're playing the same people. That's kind of the struggle right now is that we're spread so thin across the district.
“We drive two-and-ahalf hours to Bandera for a soccer game, and then we also drive to Stephenville for a football game, then we drive to Taylor for tennis and softball. If the UIL could find a way to put us in one district, that helps us logistically across-the-board,” he added. “But it also comes down to, what does that look like, teamwise?
“Who doesn't have (team) tennis for that group or who doesn't have a softball team or who doesn't have a basketball team or whatever. That affects those choices, too.”
The Mustangs, whose football season ended in a 41-7 loss to Brownwood Nov. 11, have been putting in the sweat equity for the last several weeks, Timmerman said.
'I'm excited about what our kids are doing, working hard and just getting into spring – track and baseball and softball, finishing up basketball,' he said. 'We're really focusing on working our way into our 7 on 7 seasons and our summer workouts. Whatever happens on Feb. 2, we're excited to see who we're going to get to go up against next year.'
The UIL will release which schools are in which district in early February.
Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalk-Talk.com. To send her a note, email fierrojennifer@ yahoo.com.
in for the last several years.
