IHSAA commissioner says new personal branding rule preserves school athletics

The confusion gap is the story here: Indiana has approved a new Personal Branding Activities bylaw for high school athletes, but commissioner Paul Neidig is trying to make clear that it is not a free-for-all and not a break from education-based athletics. In a May 18 letter, Neidig said the rule lets athletes benefit independently from their school, while preserving amateur status and keeping the mission of school sports intact.

The IHSAA Board of Directors approved Personal Branding Activities on May 4 by a 13-5 vote, and the rule takes effect in the 2026-27 school year. The association says the phrase was chosen to distinguish Indiana’s high school model from college NIL. That distinction matters because the state is opening the door to athlete earnings while still drawing a hard line around school involvement.

In plain language, Indiana athletes can now build and monetize a personal brand through social media, personal appearances and endorsements that are unrelated to school athletic participation. The rule also allows some skills-based services for reasonable compensation, including tutoring, personal training instruction and coaching youth sports. That means a player can turn individual visibility and expertise into income, as long as the opportunity does not ride on the school’s name or team identity.

What remains off-limits is just as important. High school athletes may not use school affiliation, school branding, uniforms or school facilities in endorsements. The IHSAA also said schools will not arrange or fund athlete deals. Neidig framed that limit as a way to avoid college-style collectives and keep the system equitable, which is where the biggest compliance gray areas will now live.

Those gray areas are likely to show up fast as summer exposure season ramps up across Indiana. Families, trainers and handlers will have to decide how much a post, camp appearance or local sponsorship leans on a player’s school connection before it crosses the line. The rule clearly opens a path for individual branding, but it also leaves plenty of room for confusion over what counts as independent promotion and what looks too much like school-backed marketing.

Indiana’s move puts it among the states with high school NIL-style rules, joining 46 others by one count. At the same May 4 meeting, the board also rejected a proposed 35-second shot clock for boys and girls varsity basketball, a reminder that the state’s most watched basketball policy debates are now happening on two tracks: how the game is played, and how far the business side can go without changing what high school athletics is supposed to be.