UIL 6A Area B 2024

[BandNerd07]

Date: November 2, 2024

Location: Pennington Field (most likely)

[BandNerd07]

Looking at Area B, I definitely thought this was one of the strongest areas last year due to how many programs attended, and how many state spots we had. There were 7 state spots, the most out of any area, but unfortunately that will most likely change this year. With several programs dropping to 5A, we may be back to only sending 5-6 bands to state. Last year we had 38 bands in Area B with 35 attending, but this year it looks like we are only going to have one program move up. So we’d only have 34 bands in the end, so the max number of bands we could advance to state would be 6, and it also doesn’t help that we have several programs fail to get a first division every single year, so we almost never send the maximum number of bands we possibly could have. Unless they realign the regions and areas, this area could just be a whole lot tougher these next two years.

[Vidal28]

7 minutes ago, BandNerd07 said:

Looking at Area B, I definitely thought this was one of the strongest areas last year due to how many programs attended, and how many state spots we had. There were 7 state spots, the most out of any area, but unfortunately that will most likely change this year. With several programs dropping to 5A, we may be back to only sending 5-6 bands to state. Last year we had 38 bands in Area B with 35 attending, but this year it looks like we are only going to have one program move up. So we’d only have 34 bands in the end, so the max number of bands we could advance to state would be 6, and it also doesn’t help that we have several programs fail to get a first division every single year, so we almost never send the maximum number of bands we possibly could have. Unless they realign the regions and areas, this area could just be a whole lot tougher these next two years.

Which programs dropped?

[BandNerd07]

Chisholm Trail, DeSoto, Fossil Ridge, Highland Park, and Paschal dropped

[crunchycookie3]

19 hours ago, BandNerd07 said:

Chisholm Trail, DeSoto, Fossil Ridge, Highland Park, and Paschal dropped

This doesn’t bode well for the chances of getting 6 or 7 to state. Hopefully the area gets redrawn this year to spread the wealth. Otherwise, this area becomes even more ridiculous yet again.

[Tubalord11]

1 hour ago, crunchycookie3 said:

This doesn’t bode well for the chances of getting 6 or 7 to state. Hopefully the area gets redrawn this year to spread the wealth. Otherwise, this area becomes even more ridiculous yet again.

Yeah, based on last year, we had 35 bands in prelims, so with the area losing 5, all 30 would need to make 1’s to take 6 to state, and if there were 5 bands that got 2’s last year, they’d all have to make 1’s to take 7, so the chances of only 5 going are looking somewhat high right now….

[BandNerd07]

34 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

Yeah, based on last year, we had 35 bands in prelims, so with the area losing 5, all 30 would need to make 1’s to take 6 to state, and if there were 5 bands that got 2’s last year, they’d all have to make 1’s to take 7, so the chances of only 5 going are looking somewhat high right now….

So basically we have 38 total bands in Area B and we are losing 5 and only gaining 1. Lancaster (the only band that Area B picks up) unfortunately has a long track record on getting not 1's, so that doesn't really help our case. If we take the three that didn't qualify (which are not going anywhere btw) plus Lancaster, we'd have exactly 30 bands, which means we can't have anymore bands that qualified last year not qualify this year or we'll only have 5 bands advance.

[TrenBS]

I posted a similar concern in area C with a similar problem, there are way too many high-level consistent groups over there with only 6 slots being reasonably possible to happen in that area, I think there needs to be an area J with the main "powerhouse ISD" being Prosper, especially with Richland high school (literally West Side Prosper, very on the nose lol) opening in 2025, the amount of state slots make zero sense with the skill of many of the bands and amount of them, and with Coppell, Waxahachie, and LISD never losing their lock slots until they lose their entire staff.

[BandNerd07]

3 hours ago, TrenBS said:

I posted a similar concern in area C with a similar problem, there are way too many high-level consistent groups over there with only 6 slots being reasonably possible to happen in that area, I think there needs to be an area J with the main "powerhouse ISD" being Prosper, especially with Richland high school (literally West Side Prosper, very on the nose lol) opening in 2025, the amount of state slots make zero sense with the skill of many of the bands and amount of them, and with Coppell, Waxahachie, and LISD never losing their lock slots until they lose their entire staff.

I think the problem with North Texas is that there's just too many powerhouse regions and areas. Looking at the region side of things, I notice that there are extremely strong regions in North Texas, specifically regions 2 (LISD, Braswell, Byron Nelson), 24 (Little Elm, Prosper, and McKinney), and 31 (Coppell, HEB, Haltom, Carroll). Really every region is going to have a strong program (Rockwall and Forney from 3, Lake Ridge from 5, RISD, and Dville from 20, Plano from 25, and KISD from 30) but regions 2, 24, and 31 are the most notable. What really needs to happen is a major region/area realignment, even if it means forming a new region (like how 30/31 came to be in 2016) or just a new area, this issue needs to be responded. There is definitely no doubt that North Texas is the most competitve region in TX for marching band, even more so than Houston, Austin, San Antonio, etc.

[TrenBS]

2 hours ago, BandNerd07 said:

I think the problem with North Texas is that there's just too many powerhouse regions and areas. Looking at the region side of things, I notice that there are extremely strong regions in North Texas, specifically regions 2 (LISD, Braswell, Byron Nelson), 24 (Little Elm, Prosper, and McKinney), and 31 (Coppell, HEB, Haltom, Carroll). Really every region is going to have a strong program (Rockwall and Forney from 3, Lake Ridge from 5, RISD, and Dville from 20, Plano from 25, and KISD from 30) but regions 2, 24, and 31 are the most notable. What really needs to happen is a major region/area realignment, even if it means forming a new region (like how 30/31 came to be in 2016) or just a new area, this issue needs to be responded. There is definitely no doubt that North Texas is the most competitve region in TX for marching band, even more so than Houston, Austin, San Antonio, etc.

Very true, if North Texas just wasnt so compact it would be so much easier to transfer others to other regions and areas, but due to that being seemingly extremely hard to do currently I think a new area is bound to show up in 2026, with major alignments in preparation this February hopefully, because if not these next 2 years are going to be very frustrating for a lot of bands, cause only 2 areas for all of North Texas is hardly sustainable before bands just dont deem it worth the effort

[Tubalord11]

2 hours ago, BandNerd07 said:

I think the problem with North Texas is that there's just too many powerhouse regions and areas. Looking at the region side of things, I notice that there are extremely strong regions in North Texas, specifically regions 2 (LISD, Braswell, Byron Nelson), 24 (Little Elm, Prosper, and McKinney), and 31 (Coppell, HEB, Haltom, Carroll). Really every region is going to have a strong program (Rockwall and Forney from 3, Lake Ridge from 5, RISD, and Dville from 20, Plano from 25, and KISD from 30) but regions 2, 24, and 31 are the most notable. What really needs to happen is a major region/area realignment, even if it means forming a new region (like how 30/31 came to be in 2016) or just a new area, this issue needs to be responded. There is definitely no doubt that North Texas is the most competitve region in TX for marching band, even more so than Houston, Austin, San Antonio, etc.

I think if anything, we need a “North Texas” Area. I would say McKinney, Prosper, Wylie, Plano, and Allen schools from Area C, and Richardson, Coppell and very North Dallas schools into a new Area. Plenty of good stadiums to choose from, McKinney ISD, Children’s Health Center, Ect, but they definitely need to make a new one for North Texas 

[TrenBS]

48 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

I think if anything, we need a “North Texas” Area. I would say McKinney, Prosper, Wylie, Plano, and Allen schools from Area C, and Richardson, Coppell and very North Dallas schools into a new Area. Plenty of good stadiums to choose from, McKinney ISD, Children’s Health Center, Ect, but they definitely need to make a new one for North Texas 

I think having just Coppell as a legacy state finalist is a healthy option, as since North is going to become 6A in the coming years, the repeated success of McKinney, Prosper, and Wylie schools allows for healthy competition while not being completely impossible for an upset which is about to occur with the current area C since I severely doubt there will be any major upset that beat most/all of the consecutive finalists. Coppell being there allows for a bar for the more well-established bands to try and reach without it being impossible, and it takes a load off of the Area B bands, I don't really care if Boyd falls off and doesn't make it I just want it to be more fair for less established bands to get noticed and to experience state

[crunchycookie3]

It is official- UIL Area B is regions 5, 30, and 31. Waxahachie and Duncanville are no longer in this area. 

Cedar Hill

Mansfield

Legacy

Lake Ridge

Arlington

Bowie

Houston

Lamar

Martin

Grand Prairie

South Grand Prairie

LD Bell

Trinity

Southlake Carroll

Keller

Keller Central

Timber Creek

Haltom

Boswell

Weatherford

Crowley

North Crowley

This is 22 schools- it looks like there will be a maximum of only 4 bands to state from this area, which means the bloodbath continues (and is honestly probably worse) between Keller, Timber Creek, Bell, Coppell, Keller Central, and Southlake. Not to mention Haltom, who qualified to the state contest last year.

[Tubalord11]

25 minutes ago, crunchycookie3 said:

It is official- UIL Area B is regions 5, 30, and 31. Waxahachie and Duncanville are no longer in this area. 

Cedar Hill

Mansfield

Legacy

Lake Ridge

Arlington

Bowie

Houston

Lamar

Martin

Grand Prairie

South Grand Prairie

LD Bell

Trinity

Southlake Carroll

Keller

Keller Central

Timber Creek

Haltom

Boswell

Weatherford

Crowley

North Crowley

This is 22 schools- it looks like there will be a maximum of only 4 bands to state from this area, which means the bloodbath continues (and is honestly probably worse) between Keller, Timber Creek, Bell, Coppell, Keller Central, and Southlake. Not to mention Haltom, who qualified to the state contest last year.

ONLY 4 SPOTS😭😭😭 This might be the most competitive Area B ever simply bc of that. I fee Like Keller and Coppell are locks, TC and Bell will most likely take the other two spots but KC,SLC and some other programs will have a something to say as well, my god this is gonna be insane!! 

[BandNerd07]

Wow, I am just in shock of how much smaller they made Area B. From 38 bands to 7 maximum qualifiers to 22 bands and 4 maximum qualifiers, that is just insane. Right now, I'd honestly have to say that Coppell is the only lock here. While Keller, TC and Bell will probably get the other spots, we can't leave out SLC, KC, or Haltom who could potentially pull off a major upset. And it is also imperative that we get as many 1st division bands as possible now that there are more limited spots than ever. Last year Lamar and Sam Houston didn't qualify and Bowie, Cedar Hill and GP barely snuck themselves in. Hopefully next year we can have most if not all bands get a 1st division at region.

[LostChoirGuy]

Coppell is still in this area, right?  It isnt on the list of 22 bands above.

[Tubalord11]

6 minutes ago, LostChoirGuy said:

Coppell is still in this area, right?  It isnt on the list of 22 bands above.

Yeah they still are 

[LostChoirGuy]

4 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

Yeah they still are 

So are there 23 schools in the area?

[Guardmom07]

Maybe I was misinformed. I thought that every school could possibly go to the state competition yearly now. Is it still every other year? 

[Tubalord11]

1 hour ago, LostChoirGuy said:

So are there 23 schools in the area?

Yes it looks like it, but we still will unfortunately only get 4 to state. 

[Tubalord11]

Just now, Guardmom07 said:

Maybe I was misinformed. I thought that every school could possibly go to the state competition yearly now. Is it still every other year? 

No it’s still every year for all conferences. There’s just been some changes in the schools in each area and creation/getting rid off some areas, but everyone can go to state every year! 

[BandNerd07]

43 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

Yes it looks like it, but we still will unfortunately only get 5 to state. 

We actually will only have 4 bands to state because you need need at least 25 bands to send 5. Since there's only 23, there will only be 4 to state. And another thing i have observed is that some bands that missed finals last year would make it this year, for instance, Lake Ridge, Trinity and Legacy. Here would be the results of this "modified" area based on last year's results:

1. Coppell**

2. LD Bell**

3. Timber Creek**

4. Keller**

5. Haltom*

6. Southlake Carroll*

7. Keller Central*

8. Lake Ridge*

9. Trinity*

10. Legacy*

11. Boswell

12. Mansfield

13. South Grand Prairie 

14. Martin

15. North Crowley 

16. Crowley

17. Arlington 

18. Weatherford

19. Bowie 

20. Cedar Hill

21. Grand Prairie

[Tubalord11]

9 minutes ago, BandNerd07 said:

We actually will only have 4 bands to state because you need need at least 25 bands to send 5. Since there's only 23, there will only be 4 to state. And another thing i have observed is that some bands that missed finals last year would make it this year, for instance, Lake Ridge, Trinity and Legacy. Here would be the results of this "modified" area based on last year's results:

1. Coppell**

2. LD Bell**

3. Timber Creek**

4. Keller**

5. Haltom*

6. Southlake Carroll*

7. Keller Central*

8. Lake Ridge*

9. Trinity*

10. Legacy*

11. Boswell

12. Mansfield

13. South Grand Prairie 

14. Martin

15. North Crowley 

16. Crowley

17. Arlington 

18. Weatherford

19. Bowie 

20. Cedar Hill

21. Grand Prairie

I meant 4 😭

[BandNerd07]

So I know it's been a while since this thread has been updated but here's my very very very early predictions for this area:

1st - Coppell: I think it's pretty obvious what they will win this area because they was been the defending area Champs for 3 years in a row and this year will be no different. Also this is truly the only lock for state IMO.

2nd-7th - Bell, Keller, KC, TC, Haltom, SLC: This is definitely going to be a massive bloodbath over who's going to get the last 3 spots, but anything could happen. As of now, I have Bell, Keller, and TC going, but it could reverse too.

8th-10th - Lake Ridge, Mansfield, Legacy, Trinity, Boswell, S. Grand Prairie, Martin, North Crowley: So with LR and Martin, they must have just had a bad/unlucky season last year so maybe things will turn around for them this season for the better. As for the other bands, they are definitely rising programs that have seen tremendous growth last season and these patterns I would imagine will continue throughout next season, but then again anything could happen.

[LostChoirGuy]

If anyone has heard anything about Keller's show, I would love to hear about it in a PM.  Thanks!