Football and marching band practices across Texas could look very different this school year.
Beginning August 1, schools must follow new mandatory heat safety rules that could shorten, delay or even cancel outdoor practices during dangerous heat.
This is a major change.
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is now requiring schools to use the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) to determine whether it’s safe to practice. For the past two years, this was only a recommendation. Now it’s required.
And with the heart of summer upon us in Southeast Texas, the timing is important.
What is the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature?
Most people are familiar with the heat index, but the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measures something different: how much heat stress a person’s body actually experiences outdoors.
The heat index measures temperature and humidity in the shade. Football players and marching bands aren’t practicing in the shade, they’re often on concrete or fields under direct sunshine wearing heavy equipment or uniforms.
The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature paints a much more complete picture of the heat athletes experience. Unlike the heat index, WBGT factors in:
- Air temperature
- Humidity
- Sunlight
- Wind speed
- Cloud cover
- Sun angle
That makes it a much better tool for determining when the human body can no longer cool itself effectively. Wet bulb addresses the impact of the heat not just what it “feels like.”
The measurement was first developed in the 1950s by the U.S. military after serious heat illness outbreaks during Army and Marine Corps training. Today, it’s become the gold standard for protecting athletes from heat-related illness.
The changes are designed to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths among student athletes during Texas’ hottest months.
What changes under the new rules?
- Schools must measure WBGT 15 minutes before practice.
- Readings must be repeated every 30 minutes.
- Higher heat levels require more water breaks.
- Practice times become shorter.
- Cold-water immersion tubs or other rapid-cooling equipment are required.
- Extreme conditions mean outdoor practice must be delayed or canceled.
If a “high” reading is measured, practice is limited to just one hour, including a mandatory 20-minute break. That leaves only 40 minutes of actual practice time.
Here’s Monday’s WBGT forecast:
This is a forecast for Monday at 4:00 PM. All state football teams start practice this day. If a team wanted to practice at 4:00 they couldn’t.
That’s one reason many schools have scheduled practices at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. next week.
The bigger challenge will come once school starts, when many teams traditionally practice immediately after classes end at 4:00 PM, the hottest part of the day. From the coaches I’ve talked with, practice will start inside on a high or extreme day.
A different way of thinking about toughness:
If you played football years ago, these rules may sound excessive. Many people will say, “We practiced in the heat, and we turned out fine.”
But today’s reality is different.
Our climate is hotter than it was decades ago, and we’ve seen far too many tragic cases of young athletes dying from heat stroke after practicing in conditions their bodies simply couldn’t handle.
Texas has experienced record-breaking summer heat in recent years, and heat illness remains one of the biggest risks facing student athletes during preseason practices.
The new rules are designed to keep students safe, not by eliminating tough practices, but by making sure dangerous heat doesn’t turn deadly.
The goal is simple: Every student goes home after practice.