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there's no opting up for band. Opting up only affects sports not band

^^^^

Based purely on marching band results, I think the correct answer here is Bridgeland. Has any other Texas band gone from non-regional finalist to National, BOA SA, and UIL State finalist in this interval? I can't think of any off the top of my head. And if you look just a few years prior, to when the school opened in 2017, they placed next to last place at BOA Conroe prelims. That's a lot of growth!

I’ve been talking a lot with my Rockwall friend and they have definitely had a lot of growth as a band. From going to 11th in 2022 to making BOA finals in 24 and 25 to making state. I just wanna put in a good word for them.

And also hope the judges aren't harsh on them so they experience the same problem Foster did, that would be rough

One day!!! So excited

First time in 6A in school history I believe!! I see them making finals in this area, but maybe not state yet until they get more seasoned in 6A

Yeah it’s a lot! UIL has post on their instagram about who’s moved up and down to and from each class if that helps!

Man I cant keep up with these dang opt ups, Ill update it after Im done with work😭😭

Barbers Hill moving to 6A is still a big deal… They weren’t far off from 5A state finals at all last year so they have a LEGITIMATE chance of doing really really good in the 6A area

Currently, the TMEA/UIL realignment website shows Garland and Rowlett as 6A; this is after they finished up district shifts between regions. I will put them as 5A in these early predictions, and put in parentheses who would be there if Garland and Rowlett choose to compete in 6A: 1. Poteet 2. Lakeview Centennial 3. North Mesquite 4. Highland Park 5. Mesquite 6. Rowlett (West Mesquite) 7. Garland (Mount Pleasant) 8. West Mesquite (Terrell) 9. Mount Pleasant (Crandall) 10. Terrell (Naaman Forest / South Garland) There is a good chance that with the bands coming down from 6A, we could see 5 bands go to state if some of the Dallas ISD bands can start seeing some improvement; Molina seems to be on the right track. I think you could make an argument to put Mesquite over Highland Park. If Naaman can get a 1 (which they probably should've this season), they should be in area finals.

anyone want to guess the finalists

Hays, Lake Belton and Barber Hills are now 6A

Heres my guess for 2026 with my thoughts on each top 3, since this state contest seems to have very distinct bubbles with all the move-ups to 6A: (Disclaimer, this is just my opinion in FEBRUARY so none of this is declared as fact or absolute. I'm just using trends and what I know about bands consistency/internal program function to make semi-educated to non-educated guesses and shouldn't be taken seriously to any offense. Its February and we don't even know show themes). 1. Lone Star 2. Lebanon Trail 3. Argyle (Frankly, this top 3 will be random until the year is established and we see where they stand, Lone Star has some inconsistency right now and is the top half wildcard, but they could easily return to their approaching Wakeland status with the right setup, Argyle has the most potential but Lebanon and Lone Star are more established so I have more confidence) 4. Burleson Centennial 5. Hays 6. Hendrickson (Hendrickson got nuked in brass and percussion since every other caption ranges from 13-17 so I imagine this was an off year with unlucky prelims judging/performance. They are the wildcard of 5A now and could place as high as 5th or as low as like 18th, but for my pre-season take Ill trend higher with them in my prediction) 7. McKinney North 8. Richland 9. McCallum (This is where it gets fluid for me, 7-12 all kind of feel same-y for me in regards to the bubble and Id argue down to 14-18 with some potential newcomers from move downs or new state slots appearing, McKinney North had a director shift but internally the band has improved significantly, but can easily miss finals if they dont recover.) Rest of the bubble (no particular order besides confidence): High confidence for 7-12: Poteet, Barber Hill, Friendswood, Harlingen South Medium confidence for 7-12: Lake Belton, A&M Consolidated, Melissa, Reedy Wildcard 7-12 bubble: Roma, Panther Creek, Celina

Geographically Kaufman is located between Ferris-Area B and Kemp-Area C. There are huge implications for the competitive balance for C and B depending on where Kaufman goes. Based on state results from last year, if you take out PC and Celina, both areas are fairly balanced in terms of competition with area C maybe having a slight advantage. Area C also gets credit for military bands that earn 1s but don’t compete at area. It will be very interesting to see how this develops.

Lakeview Centennial also had some growth, mainly between 2022 and 2023

time to predict state bands 1. Poteet/NM/LC 2. Poteet/NM/LC 3. Poteet/NM/LC 4. up for grabs (the colored text is what I think the top 3 placements will be)

Not much changes here other than Celina & Community move up into 5A Area B or C Kaufman drops down into this area or Area B from 5A Area C Tarkington drops down in 3A Area C Lindale & Jacksonville (Both Military) drops down from 5A Area C If I am correct, the alignment changes put the total # of bands for 4A Area C to 44.

Interesting seeing a group from Nevada (non-Texas) so far. I wonder if we will see more of that this year or if itll be another year of a near all Texas roundup haha

Ngl, I think that if Kaufman is as strong as they were these last two years, I could see them 1st or top 3 here.

Kudos to Melissa for doing this. I wonder if they knew that it would sell out so fast. There was obviously a lot of pent up demand for something like this. it looks like there are around 10 state marching contest participants. 4A is going to be really interesting. With state medalists Celina and Panther Creek moving up, there is a real chance there are at least 2-4 bands in this group that are poised to get a top 3 finish at state. It will also be a great opportunity to see how Kaufman is going fit in the 4A picture.

Kaufman is coming back to 4A from 5A

So to start things off, do we think there’s a possibility we’ll see some Area C’s move to Area B?

Haven’t seen someone make one yet so here you go.

Bwood was moved to the Pasadena/Pearland/Alvin football district and replaced by Barbers Hill, Brazosport is 4A 😅