The recent Texas High School Coaches Association coaching school hummed along with a familiar drone a couple of weeks ago in San Antonio.

Coaches exchange backslaps and tall tales with old buddies and scouting partners. Clinics broke down the latest strategic trends. Résumés moved quicker than a River Walk bartender backed up on margarita orders.

And then UIL executive director Charles Breithaupt dropped a bombshell, causing a flurry of concern in a breed that values – above all else – order.

Breithaupt’s chaotic revelation? The UIL would survey the state’s superintendents in September on the possibility of creating a Class 6A. Breithaupt said that the possibility of such expansion is “more likely than ever,” and coaches from Class 1A Claude to Class 5A Coppell immediately shook at the possibilities.

But a little examination should offer a lot of comfort to coaches. Not much would change, especially in Central Texas. Westlake would remain in the state’s classification for the largest schools, as would the bulk of other current Class 5A campuses in the area. Playoff expansion looks like the biggest difference between the current classification system and the proposed Class 6A.

Under the proposal, four schools from each district in every classification would make the state football playoffs. Currently, only Class 5A and 4A districts advance four teams from each district. The UIL will present the results of the superintendent poll to its Legislative Council in October. The Council could make a final decision by January, Breithaupt said, and the change could be made for the 2012-14 realignment.

In itself, increasing the 11-man playoff participation to 768 schools (out of a little more than 1,200 schools) will likely draw the support of many superintendents. However, the addition of a Class 6A would also help bridge the competitive gaps that have grown, especially among schools in the lower classifications.

Currently, Class 5A includes schools with an enrollment of at least 2,065 students. Class 4A includes schools between 990 and 2,064 students, while Class 3A includes schools with enrollments stretching from 430 to 989 students. The UIL realigns schools every other year, and the next realignment will take place in 2012.

Class 5A includes 245 schools during the current realignment, which marks the maximum number of schools that the UIL allows in a classification. Based on a breakdown of six classifications, each class in the proposed realignment would include approximately 212 schools. That would allow the UIL to retain 32 districts in each classification and have an average of six teams per district.

By that model, a new Class 6A would have a minimum enrollment of approximately 2,149 students, which is just slightly higher than the current cutoff. A new Class 5A could include schools with enrollments stretching from approximately 1,300 to 2,149, while a new Class 4A could include schools with enrollments ranging from 518 to 1,298.

Where would a Class 6A leave Westlake? Likely in its exact same district, which currently includes Bowie, Austin High, Anderson, Akins and Del Valle. Anderson, with an enrollment of 1,977, would be the only school to fall below a likely cutoff number for Class 6A. Since Anderson officials currently petition up to play in Class 5A anyway, the Trojans would likely remain with Westlake and other area schools that would go into Class 6A.

Locally, the current Class 4A would split. Schools with strong athletic programs such as Lake Travis, Connally, Hendrickson, McCallum and Cedar Park would compete at 5A, while smaller schools like Elgin, Hutto and Dripping Springs would stay in Class 4A.

Those gathered at the coaches’ school in San Antonio expressed concern about increased travel costs, but a new Class 6A would have a minimal impact. The majority of schools are based in the ever-growing suburbs of the state’s major metropolitan areas, and distance doesn’t matter as much as traffic density.

The UIL’s only travel issue comes from the familiar source of West Texas. Excluding El Paso, there are currently 12 Class 5A schools west of the I-35 corridor. Three of those schools (Abilene Cooper, Amarillo, Amarillo Tascosa) have less than 2,149 students, thus dropping them below any likely minimum for a Class 6A. That would leave West Texas with a nine-team Class 6A district, although population trends – all three Lubbock high schools have enrollments that have dropped below 2,200 – would likely shrink that number within one or two realignment cycles.

Besides, West Texans drive 90 minutes for a gallon of milk. What’s a four-hour haul from Odessa to Amarillo for a football game?