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http://www.chron.com/sports/highschool/article/UIL-title-games-may-move-after-NFL-schedules-6218016.php
UIL title games may move after NFL schedules Cowboys at home Dec. 19 NFL pits Cowboys, Jets in Arlingtonon Saturday, Dec. 19
The Dallas Cowboys are exploring options to move a December home game against the New York Jets, helping Texas keep its public school football championships at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. But the power of the NFL could dictate otherwise.
"It's a Saturday game on national TV in prime time," said Justin White, the executive sales manager at NRG Park, which includes NRG Stadium, one of the possible locations to host the title games should they move. "I doubt seriously they're going to move it. Now, I'm not the one making that decision, but I don't think they'll move it."
The NFL released its 2015 schedule Tuesday. While fans talked wins and losses and planned road trips, "miscommunication" between the Cowboys and the University Interscholastic League - the state's governing body for public schools - could force the state football championship games to relocate to NRG Stadium or the Alamodome in San Antonio.
The Cowboys face the Jets on Dec. 19 at home. The Week 15 matchup is the lone Saturday game (7:25 p.m.) and will be televised nationally on NFL Network.
The UIL's tentative 2015-16 calendar has Dec. 17-19 marked for 10 of its 12 football championships. Both Class A (six-man) finals are scheduled for the prior Saturday.
The UIL's one-year contract with AT&T Stadium included an option for a one-year extension this fall. As it has done before, the league expressed interest in returning.
"We just hadn't confirmed it yet," UIL spokesperson Kate Hector said. "There was a miscommunication sometime between when we last talked about going there for 2015 and when the NFL schedule was coming out. At some point, we got off the calendar."AT&T Stadium has hosted all of the 11-man championships since 2011, adding both six-man finals two years later.
Rich Dalrymple, the Cowboys' vice president of public relations and communications, said the team is working with the NFL and UIL "to explore options for the 2015 games to be played in Arlington." However, he acknowledged alternative sites must be explored, which the UIL is doing, Hector confirmed.
Rotation in the works
The Texans are at Indianapolis on Dec. 20, and the Alamodome doesn't have an event scheduled that weekend. "As soon as I saw we had an open weekend, I contacted the UIL, and that was it," White said. "They said they don't know what's happening yet and would get back to me." Said Michael Torres, the booking services manager at the Alamodome: "We're going to inquire about that event and see what we can do to bring it to San Antonio."
Dr. Charles Breithaupt, the UIL's executive director, said in a radio interview Wednesday that the UIL is not considering changing its current Thursday through Saturday format, and games on Wednesday or Sunday are not an option.
White and Breithaupt said NRG and the UIL already have been in discussions about the stadium's hosting the 2016 title games.
One factor that could favor the Alamodome for hosting the 2015 games is availability on consecutive weekends. A concern, however, is that the Alamodome doesn't have enough locker rooms. The Texans are at home Dec. 13 and play on natural grass. Playing high school games (six-man finals) the night before on artificial turf and changing the surface overnight - the Texans face New England at noon - has never been done at NRG Stadium.
UTSA plays its final home game at the Alamodome on Nov. 28 and could host the Conference USAchampionship the next week. The 2016 Valero Alamo Bowl is Jan. 2.
Even with predetermined sites, the UIL has used multiple stadiums before.
"We don't know where it's going to be, and we will know something in the summer when we typically announce," Hector said, adding the UIL expects the 11-man games to stay in one location and that it's possible the six-man games will be played at another site.
The UIL has stated an eventual rotation among AT&T Stadium, NRG Stadium and the Alamodome was in the works, with each getting multi-year blocks to host the games.
"Basically, a miscommunication between us and the Cowboys on the timing in our desire of rotating sites is how this came to be," Hector said.
The three stadiums are desired locations because each has a dome and artificial turf. Each has been used since the UIL went to predetermined sites at the largest classification in 2006. The Alamodome hosted that year and in 2007 and 2009, while Houston hosted in 2008.
In 2010 - the first time all classes went to predetermined sites - the top three classes played at AT&T Stadium, the lowest two 11-man classes played in nearby Mansfield, and six-man played in Abilene. All but six-man went to Arlington the next year.
Since the UIL went to predetermined sites, teams in the largest class that are within an hour of the host stadium have played for a title 12 times. They've won seven times.
But six have come in the last four years - and all six featured a Dallas/Forth Worth-area school against a team from Houston. The DFW Metroplex has swept the largest two classifications the last two years.
Only Navasota (2014), Katy (2012) and Pearland (2010) have won titles at AT&T Stadium against DFW schools.
Location matters
In 2008 in Houston, Katy (33 miles from the stadium) beat Wylie (271), while Hightower (15) lost to Allen (274). A San Antonio school has played for a title at the Alamodome just once since predetermined sites were incorporated, with Converse Judson (16 miles from the stadium) losing to Euless Trinity (283) in 2007.
"It matters," said Katy coach Gary Joseph, whose Tigers faced Cedar Hill, which is 19 miles from AT&T Stadium, in a state final in each of the last three years. "It's how well people travel and how many people are traveling. It's not a big deal - we've won in both places (Arlington and Houston), and we won in San Antonio. But in the long run … it matters."
An announcement likely won't come for another three or four months. The UIL announced the 2014 championships in July that year, the 2013 schedule in August and the 2012 slate of games in September.
San Antonio is more centrally located in the state, though powerhouse programs in East Texas are actually closer to Houston. Of the 24 schools to play for state championships last season, six are more than 300 miles from NRG Stadium. Ten are more than 300 miles from the Alamodome.
But the Alamodome recently held the girls and boys state basketball championships in March after both moved from Austin.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," White said. "Right now, it's just all up in the air."
UIL title games may move after NFL schedules Cowboys at home Dec. 19 NFL pits Cowboys, Jets in Arlingtonon Saturday, Dec. 19
The Dallas Cowboys are exploring options to move a December home game against the New York Jets, helping Texas keep its public school football championships at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. But the power of the NFL could dictate otherwise.
"It's a Saturday game on national TV in prime time," said Justin White, the executive sales manager at NRG Park, which includes NRG Stadium, one of the possible locations to host the title games should they move. "I doubt seriously they're going to move it. Now, I'm not the one making that decision, but I don't think they'll move it."
The NFL released its 2015 schedule Tuesday. While fans talked wins and losses and planned road trips, "miscommunication" between the Cowboys and the University Interscholastic League - the state's governing body for public schools - could force the state football championship games to relocate to NRG Stadium or the Alamodome in San Antonio.
The Cowboys face the Jets on Dec. 19 at home. The Week 15 matchup is the lone Saturday game (7:25 p.m.) and will be televised nationally on NFL Network.
The UIL's tentative 2015-16 calendar has Dec. 17-19 marked for 10 of its 12 football championships. Both Class A (six-man) finals are scheduled for the prior Saturday.
The UIL's one-year contract with AT&T Stadium included an option for a one-year extension this fall. As it has done before, the league expressed interest in returning.
"We just hadn't confirmed it yet," UIL spokesperson Kate Hector said. "There was a miscommunication sometime between when we last talked about going there for 2015 and when the NFL schedule was coming out. At some point, we got off the calendar."AT&T Stadium has hosted all of the 11-man championships since 2011, adding both six-man finals two years later.
Rich Dalrymple, the Cowboys' vice president of public relations and communications, said the team is working with the NFL and UIL "to explore options for the 2015 games to be played in Arlington." However, he acknowledged alternative sites must be explored, which the UIL is doing, Hector confirmed.
Rotation in the works
The Texans are at Indianapolis on Dec. 20, and the Alamodome doesn't have an event scheduled that weekend. "As soon as I saw we had an open weekend, I contacted the UIL, and that was it," White said. "They said they don't know what's happening yet and would get back to me." Said Michael Torres, the booking services manager at the Alamodome: "We're going to inquire about that event and see what we can do to bring it to San Antonio."
Dr. Charles Breithaupt, the UIL's executive director, said in a radio interview Wednesday that the UIL is not considering changing its current Thursday through Saturday format, and games on Wednesday or Sunday are not an option.
White and Breithaupt said NRG and the UIL already have been in discussions about the stadium's hosting the 2016 title games.
One factor that could favor the Alamodome for hosting the 2015 games is availability on consecutive weekends. A concern, however, is that the Alamodome doesn't have enough locker rooms. The Texans are at home Dec. 13 and play on natural grass. Playing high school games (six-man finals) the night before on artificial turf and changing the surface overnight - the Texans face New England at noon - has never been done at NRG Stadium.
UTSA plays its final home game at the Alamodome on Nov. 28 and could host the Conference USAchampionship the next week. The 2016 Valero Alamo Bowl is Jan. 2.
Even with predetermined sites, the UIL has used multiple stadiums before.
"We don't know where it's going to be, and we will know something in the summer when we typically announce," Hector said, adding the UIL expects the 11-man games to stay in one location and that it's possible the six-man games will be played at another site.
The UIL has stated an eventual rotation among AT&T Stadium, NRG Stadium and the Alamodome was in the works, with each getting multi-year blocks to host the games.
"Basically, a miscommunication between us and the Cowboys on the timing in our desire of rotating sites is how this came to be," Hector said.
The three stadiums are desired locations because each has a dome and artificial turf. Each has been used since the UIL went to predetermined sites at the largest classification in 2006. The Alamodome hosted that year and in 2007 and 2009, while Houston hosted in 2008.
In 2010 - the first time all classes went to predetermined sites - the top three classes played at AT&T Stadium, the lowest two 11-man classes played in nearby Mansfield, and six-man played in Abilene. All but six-man went to Arlington the next year.
Since the UIL went to predetermined sites, teams in the largest class that are within an hour of the host stadium have played for a title 12 times. They've won seven times.
But six have come in the last four years - and all six featured a Dallas/Forth Worth-area school against a team from Houston. The DFW Metroplex has swept the largest two classifications the last two years.
Only Navasota (2014), Katy (2012) and Pearland (2010) have won titles at AT&T Stadium against DFW schools.
Location matters
In 2008 in Houston, Katy (33 miles from the stadium) beat Wylie (271), while Hightower (15) lost to Allen (274). A San Antonio school has played for a title at the Alamodome just once since predetermined sites were incorporated, with Converse Judson (16 miles from the stadium) losing to Euless Trinity (283) in 2007.
"It matters," said Katy coach Gary Joseph, whose Tigers faced Cedar Hill, which is 19 miles from AT&T Stadium, in a state final in each of the last three years. "It's how well people travel and how many people are traveling. It's not a big deal - we've won in both places (Arlington and Houston), and we won in San Antonio. But in the long run … it matters."
An announcement likely won't come for another three or four months. The UIL announced the 2014 championships in July that year, the 2013 schedule in August and the 2012 slate of games in September.
San Antonio is more centrally located in the state, though powerhouse programs in East Texas are actually closer to Houston. Of the 24 schools to play for state championships last season, six are more than 300 miles from NRG Stadium. Ten are more than 300 miles from the Alamodome.
But the Alamodome recently held the girls and boys state basketball championships in March after both moved from Austin.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," White said. "Right now, it's just all up in the air."
