UIL to Discuss Possible Rule Changes

The University Interscholastic League convenes in Austin on Tuesday to consider new rules for high school students -- including whether games should be called early because of uneven high scores.

Last season, the father of a Western Hills High School football player filed an official bullying complaint after Aledo High School defeated the Fort Worth school 91 to 0.

The Aledo Independent School District reviewed the complaint and determined that bullying did not occur.

The UIL, the governing body for high school sports in Texas, has a mercy rule for six-man football that ends a game when one team gets ahead by 45 points by halftime or later but does not have one for 11-man football.

The UIL also said coaches can agree to end a game early.

“The mercy rule, they are calling it the Aledo rule, because of the 91 to nothing game,” said Aledo coach Tim Buchanan.

NBC DFW contacted the UIL and they stated there are no specifics to how the rule would work in 11-man football. Buchanan does not think it should be enacted in the first place.

In last year's game, they pulled their starters early. Buchanan said that he’s only seen a winning margin of 50 or more 10 times throughout his 31 years of coaching.

“The big reason I see is you are going to have a lot of football players who don’t get to play because of a mercy rule," Buchanan. "You stop a football game at halftime you will have a lot of players who don’t get to play."

Many parents think you have to consider the physical aspect of the game.

“If you take some of these lesser teams and by the time you get to the fourth quarter, the kids are getting stomped. I mean to avoid injury maybe ... I am not against that,” said parent David Wade.

“They need to know how to win..But they also need to know how to lose. And I think that takes away the real life aspects of playing the game,” said parent Amy Brown.

The UIL also plans to discuss the possibility of high school football instant replays, physicals for band students and allowing home school students to participate in UIL competitions among other topics of interest.

A proposal will be submitted and NBC DFW has learned that if a decision is made, it may not be until October.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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