IHSAA approves student-athlete branding, rejects basketball shot clock proposal

Indiana high school basketball got one nod to the modern era Monday and one hard no. The Indiana High School Athletic Association board approved Personal Branding Activities for student-athletes, then turned around and rejected the 35-second shot clock proposal that many coaches believed could have changed how boys and girls varsity games are played and finished.

The board met in Indianapolis for its annual review of member-school bylaw changes, with President Tom Black of East Central and Vice President Jeff Hamstra of Chesterton leading the session. By the time the votes were done, the board had approved 17 proposals, five failed to receive enough support, and one died for lack of a motion. The association says its Board of Directors and Executive Committee meet annually on the first Monday of May to consider those changes, and this year’s meeting carried more weight for basketball than the calendar alone suggested.

The branding decision matters immediately for Indiana basketball players because the sport has always rewarded visibility. A strong social presence, camp exposure and public profile can now be managed more openly under a rule that the IHSAA says is meant to let student-athletes potentially benefit while preserving amateur status. For players trying to get noticed, that means their name, image and online footprint can be part of the path without crossing into the college-style NIL world. For parents and coaches, it creates a new lane to navigate, especially for prospects whose reputations can spread statewide long before the first whistle of winter.

The shot clock vote kept the state in a different lane entirely. Submitted on behalf of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, the proposal would have added a 35-second shot clock to boys and girls varsity games beginning with the 2028-29 season. It failed by a 17-1 vote, with reporting pointing to tradition and cost concerns as the main reasons the board stayed put.

That rejection leaves Indiana among the states still without a mandatory high school shot clock, even as the debate has sharpened for years. Coaches who want one argue it would speed pace, reward skill and better prepare players for the next level. The board’s answer Monday was to modernize the athlete off the floor while preserving the old rhythm on it. In Indiana, the branding door opened. The shot clock door stayed shut.