UIL Not Awarding 2019-20 Lone Star Cup

by Steve Gamel

For Argyle High School, the annual Lone Star Cup isn’t just an award. It’s the standard upon which its coaches, students, athletes, and administration base each school year. It’s a symbol of excellence, and as of mid-March, the Eagles were on their way to hoisting the trophy once again.

Sadly, they won’t get that chance — but not because they came up short to another school.

The University Interscholastic League announced on June 25 that they would not award the Cup for the 2019-20 school year. The decision was based solely on the fact that all spring events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those events included boys basketball, robotics, boys and girls soccer, academics, one-act play, track and field, golf, tennis, softball, and baseball.

Rather than award winners in each classification based on incomplete points, the UIL felt it was best not to award the trophy at all — much to Argyle’s chagrin.

“It’s very disappointing to us,” Argyle football coach Todd Rodgers said. “We talk about that. We think about that. We strategize the best we can about working through a whole school year with our band, our fine arts, UIL academics, and certainly our athletic platforms. We like it, and we had a good solid lead.”

That’s the factor that stings the most. The Lone Star Cup, which began during the 1997-1998 school year, is awarded annually to one high school in each of the state’s six classifications and is based on points accumulated from victories throughout the yearw in athletics, fine arts, and academics. Argyle has won the trophy for its classification in each of the last eight years.

Despite the school year being cut short, Argyle had amassed 73 points in Class 4A and a whopping 25-point lead over second-place Canyon. The Eagles likely would have maintained that cushion for the rest of the school year. Just based on athletics alone, its boys basketball team advanced to the state tournament before it was canceled, and its baseball team was primed to compete for a state title, as well. Girls soccer, track and field, and numerous other sports would have contributed points, too. “Our accomplishments are important here,” Rodgers said. “We’re trying to take kids wherever they are and maximize them in whatever they wish to participate in.”

The good news is that there is always next year, and there’s no doubt Argyle will be in the hunt.

Argyle has won a Lone Star Cup in three different classifications dating back to 2006, including every year since 2009. Winning schools in each classification receive the Cup trophy and a $1,000 scholarship. Below are the final Top 10 Class 4A standings, as provided by the UIL.

Argyle – 73 Canyon — 48 Hereford — 45 Carthage — 44 Liberty Hill — 43 Decatur — 39 Kennedale — 38 Texarkana Pleasant Grove — 38 China Spring — 37 Lamar Fulshear — 37