HOUSTON – For generations, football players and marching band members across Texas have spent late summer afternoons practicing in some of the hottest weather of the year.
This school year, that could look different.
Beginning August 1, every University Interscholastic League (UIL) school in Texas is required to follow a new heat safety standard before students participate in outdoor athletic or marching band practices.
The goal is straightforward: reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses by giving coaches and directors a better way to measure how dangerous outdoor conditions have become.
What’s changing?
For the past two years, the UIL recommended schools use something called the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, or WBGT, to determine whether it was safe for students to practice outside.
Now, those recommendations are mandatory.
Instead of relying only on the heat index, schools must use the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature before outdoor practices begin and continue monitoring conditions throughout practice.
The reading must be taken at least 15 minutes before practice starts and again every 30 minutes while students remain outside.
Why isn’t the heat index enough?
Most people check the heat index before heading outside.
The problem is the heat index is calculated in the shade using temperature and humidity.
Student athletes and marching band members are rarely practicing in the shade.
They’re often wearing helmets, shoulder pads, or heavy uniforms while standing on turf, concrete, or asphalt under direct sunlight.
The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature takes several additional factors into account, including:
• Air temperature
• Humidity
• Direct sunlight
• Wind speed
• Cloud cover
By measuring those conditions together, coaches receive a better picture of how much heat stress students are experiencing during practice.
What happens when temperatures climb?
The hotter the WBGT reading becomes, the more restrictions schools must follow.
Depending on the conditions, practices could include:
• More frequent water breaks
• Shorter practice periods
• Required rapid cooling equipment, including cold-water immersion tubs
• Delayed outdoor practices
• Canceled outdoor workouts during extreme heat
Rather than canceling workouts altogether, many schools are expected to adjust practice schedules by moving activities to earlier in the morning or later in the evening, when conditions are typically less dangerous.
Football isn’t the only activity affected
While football often receives the most attention during preseason workouts, the new rules also apply to marching band programs across Texas.
Band members often spend hours outside rehearsing routines while wearing uniforms and carrying instruments, placing them at risk for heat-related illnesses as well.
The UIL’s updated requirements are designed to protect all students participating in outdoor school activities.
Why now?
Texas has experienced several summers of prolonged extreme heat, and medical experts continue to warn about the dangers of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, especially during preseason practices.
The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature has been used for decades by organizations including the U.S. military to help prevent heat-related illnesses during strenuous outdoor training.
State officials say making the system mandatory gives schools a more accurate way to determine when outdoor conditions become unsafe.
What parents should know
Parents may notice practices beginning earlier in the morning, moving later into the evening, or shifting indoors when conditions become too dangerous.
Those changes are expected under the new UIL requirements and are designed to reduce the risk of heat-related emergencies while allowing students to continue preparing for the season.
As football teams and marching bands return to practice across Texas, coaches will now be making decisions based not only on the forecast, but on real-time conditions measured where students are actually practicing.
The objective is simple: make sure every student who starts practice safely returns home afterward.