Early football moves up to Class 3A Division I, Comanche slides to Class 3A Division II

With the release of the UIL classification cutoffs for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, two additional schools in the BrownwoodNews.com coverage area will be making changes.

The Early Longhorns, fresh off a District 5-3A Division I tri-championship – the program’s first since 2007 – are headed back to Class 3A Division I. Early turned in an enrollment of 378 students, and Class 3A Division I will consist of schools with 367-549 students.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football projects the Early Longhorns to be located in District 3-3A Division I, along with Jim Ned, Peaster, Sweetwater and Clyde.

Meanwhile, the Comanche Indians are moving down from Class 3A Division I back to Class 3A Division II. Comanche turned in 345 students, and the cutoff numbers for 3A Division II are between 246 and 366 students.

The Comanche Indians’ future home, according to DCTF, could be District 4-3A Division II with Breckenridge, Eastland, Merkel and Grape Creek.

The only other school to come close to switching was Zephyr, which will remain in Class A Division II with 57 students. The cutoff line between Class A Division I and Class A Division II was 57.5 students.

Remaining in the Class 2A Division I – which will feature schools with enrollments between 175.6 and 245 students – are Bangs (204), Coleman (212) and San Saba (197).

Staying in Class 2A Division II – which will feature schools with enrollments between 105 and 175.5 students – are Goldthwaite (152) and Cross Plains (113).

Teams remaining in Class A Division I – which will feature schools with enrollments between 57.6-104 students – are May (76) and Santa Anna (64).

The rest of the teams in the BrownwoodNews.com area will remain in Class A Division II – which will feature schools with enrollments lower than 57.5 students – Blanket (48), Rising Star (48), Mullin (47), Panther Creek (42), Brookesmith (39), Sidney (32), Richland Springs (31), and Priddy (28).

Complete UIL realignment, featuring district and regions, will be released Feb. 3, 2026.