DALLAS — University Interscholastic League (UIL) rule makers on Tuesday considered a number of proposals that would dramatically change high school sports in Texas, though the panel mostly rejected eyebrow-raising ideas.
Staff opted to study whether to sanction esports, a step forward for gamers but not the leap many hoped for.
Educators have pushed the UIL to regulate esports in the same fashion it polices high school football, volleyball, and other sports. Now, gamers mostly compete in for-profit leagues that advocates argue are ripe for exploitation.
The UIL panel also moved to study whether to allow TV stations to broadcast high school football games live on Friday nights.
Under current policy, regular season games can only air live in their entirety during a single week, typically at the beginning of the season. Stations may broadcast any games played on Thursdays or Saturdays.
Schools and media outlets are allowed to stream game broadcasts online, though.
“Broadcasting is broadcasting. They’re the same now," Bally Sports Southwest executive producer Jason Walsh said. "We'd like the same permissions granted to the digital broadcast (outlets)."
The panel also punted on sanctioning boys volleyball, moving instead to study the proposal.
But the committee rejected some high-profile suggestions, which mostly came from members of the public.
Cheerleaders will not be barred from basketball games. It's not clear why someone proposed ending the practice, though some fans speculated the move might protect athletes by clearing crowded baselines.
Coaches will still be allowed to coach their own children at school.
"We're sure there's a story behind that (idea)," Barber's Hill superintendent Greg Poole joked. "We wondered if that came from a coach's kid."
The panel rejected a motion to sanction table tennis. It also rejected a proposal to allow football coaches to coach their schools' teams in summer 7-on-7 leagues.
The rulemaking committee is scheduled to meet next in October.
