We have put aside all the 7-on-7s, the big man camps, the team getaways into the mountains. And although the mercury disagrees, weve put aside the summer as a whole.The eight- to nine-month offseason ended Monday with the official start of the 2026 prep football season.Footballs will be in the air come Aug. 20, and its less than three weeks until everyones openers.What has transpired since we last convened? Plenty.There is, naturally, the states new transfer rule. Look, weve always had transfers theyre just going to exist at a greater speed (and, probably, at a larger volume) in our new reality. Theyll be a significant part of the 2026 landscape, and theyll surely be part of the discussion throughout the remainder of the summer and into the fall.The other major change is the new realignment and classification of schools, and its as unique an approach as the New Mexico Activities Association has attempted.As a precursor, lets acknowledge that there is no realignment plan that has ever found 100% affirmation with the organizations member schools. Ive been at this a while, and seen plenty of realignment iterations, and there hasnt been one yet with universal acclaim. There is always some grumbling.New Mexicos expansive geography has been a pesky thorn in the NMAAs side for decades. It hasnt changed. It wont change.What does it look like for 2026 and 2027?The four largest 11-man classes, 3A through 6A, have all been divided into two large districts. This is not necessarily new for the 5A and 4A schools, who already had been separated into two giant leagues in the previous realignment plan.That 6A has been similarly constructed is the major wrinkle. Last year, there were 21 schools in 6A, and three districts.The NMAA wanted to have the same number of schools across the board. And thats precisely what we have. Class 6A has 16 schools. So does 5A and 4A. There are 17 in 3A. There is equity, which is definitely a positive. The top-16 enrollment schools in New Mexico a formula based on the average of the 80-day student counts in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and the 40-day count from 2025-26 comprise Class 6A.The top-16 enrollment schools were 6A, the next largest 16 were 5A, etc.This shifting of the puzzle pieces has created a whole assortment of fresh district pairings. Im not sure I would have conceived a day where La Cueva and Cleveland (the two-time defending state champs) were district rivals, and La Cueva and Eldorado were not, but thats what we have.To be honest, Volcano Vista and Eldorado got the short stick in 6A, being placed in the district that features Centennial, Las Cruces and Hobbs, among others, and there will be copious travel for those two, much more compared to the northern 6A district.On the coaching front, there were not many major changes, especially in 6A. Los Lunas is an exception. Stephen Johnston, who cut his coaching teeth in Artesia before he moved north to take over at Manzano, is now the head man there.But the thing is, Los Lunas is not 6A anymore. The Tigers (who were a competitive program in the 6A ranks), along with Cibola, Alamogordo, Santa Fe and Piedra Vista, all dropped to 5A, and four of those five are now district partners. Alamo, naturally, was placed in the southern-based 5A district. Artesia and Roswell rule the roost there. Those two have met in each of the last three state championship games. The Bulldogs are chasing their 34th title this year.There has been similar filtering down in the other classes.Lovington, Belen, Valley, Santa Teresa and Rio Grande were 5A, but those are all 4A programs for the next two seasons.The 4A division should be compelling. St. Pius, the runner-to Bloomfield in each of the last two years, is here and once again chasing a blue trophy. The addition of Lovington is going to be a challenge for everyone in this class, including Bloomfield.Moriarty isnt 4A anymore. For at least the next two seasons, the Fighting Pintos are a 3A program. St. Michaels, the three-time defender in 3A and winners off 33 games in a row, is two victories away from moving into second place on New Mexicos all-time consecutive wins list. It can leapfrog Gadsden (34 in a row from 1952-56) in Week 2 versus Santa Fe.From 3A-6A, there are 65 teams. A total of 48 of them will qualify for the playoffs. Thats too many. This is something Id like to see the NMAA address and amend going forward. Last year, 6A had 21 members, and 12 made it to the postseason. That ratio, 12 out of 21, was tolerable.But 12 out of 16 is not. Its just not. Slotting 75% of teams into the playoffs? Not a fan of this. Not one bit. Deming, for example, qualified for state last year in Class 5A with a 1-9 record. Portales got in with a 2-8 record in 4A. This is not a good look. Eight is the better number in a 16-team division.From where I sit, taking 12 waters down the meaning of the regular season. Some of you will agree with me on this stance, some of you will not.In either event, we have arrived at football season. Its expected to be more than 100 degrees in lots of cities throughout the week, so it wont feel like football season, but the calendar speaks the truth.The circus is back in town.James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.