Ray Zapada, UIL athletic director, welcomes coaches to the 2025-2026 school year and introduces the UIL athletic staff, including assistant athletic directors AJ Martinez, Joseph Garmin, and Grace McDow, as well as Virginia Flores. He acknowledges Jessica Walker and Hannah Higgins. Dylan Bankston is the officials coordinator.

A brief history of the UIL is given, established in 1910 as part of the University of Texas at Austin, highlighting its growth into the largest interscholastic organization, supporting athletics, academics, and music. The Legislative Council is made up of 32 elected superintendents. The State Executive Committee consists of 12 individuals who hear student eligibility appeals and disciplinary cases. District Executive Committees represent every school in the competitive district. The Waiver Review Board reviews decisions made by the UIL waiver officer.

Coaches are asked to focus on: stringent pre-season and in-season eligibility processes (verifying grades, residence, and PAPF completion), adherence to accountability and ethics, promoting sportsmanship, and emphasizing emergency action plans (EAPs) to ensure preparedness for emergencies.

The UIL staff is committed to improving collaboration and communication, enhancing sportsmanship support, improving game administrator performance through updated training, and updating resources for emergency action plans. They are also striving to promote community and education-based athletics.

Updates for the 2025-2026 school year include changes to PAPF requirements (page one fully completed). Foreign exchange student regulations now require a foreign exchange participation form and homeschool participation guidelines have been reversed, with districts now needing to opt-out to prevent homeschool student participation. NIL agreements are now allowed for student athletes 17 and older with specific restrictions. Spring calendar changes have been made, particularly in tennis and track and field.

Changes to the constitution and contest rules related to sports officials. Coaches must now use the UIL online scratch form, if an agreement has been made within four days of the contest with the opposing coach about the officials then the coach will need to provide a written explanation from their superintendent, athletic director, or principal.

Coaches should read the sports manual and TEA UIL side-by-side, utilize UIL coaches checklists, and be experts on sports-specific and UIL rules. Required training includes UIL professional acknowledgment form, CCP modules (constitution and contest rules, ethics and sportsmanship, steroid education, safety training, concussion training, and sport-specific modules), CPR/first aid/AED certification, and Adavis training for football coaches.