INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana High School Athletic Association board of directors approved personal branding activities for Indiana student athletes. PBA activities are known as NIL (Name-Image-Likeness) at the collegiate level, although there are differences between NIL and PBA.
The PBA activities passed with a 13-5 vote. Student athletes at IHSAA member schools can now benefit financially while maintaining their amateur status beginning the 2026-2027 school year.
With the new rule, students will not be allowed to use their school affiliation nor appear in uniform during activities.
“Unlike the current college system, where schools often play a direct role in NIL compensa-tion, the new rule keeps high schools out of arranging or funding deals for student ath-letes,” IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig said in a press release. “Instead, it allows students to benefit independently from their school, without using school branding or representing school sponsored endorsements. It creates a clear distinction between the college model and the educational mission of high school athletics.”
Allowable PBA activities include non-school, non-athletic activities. Students may engage in PBA activities provided they do not represent the member school and do not perform ath-letic services.
Students may develop and monetize their personal brand through social media, personal appearances and endorsements unrelated to their school athletic participation.
Students may provide non-athletic services such as tutoring, personal training instruction, or coaching youth sports for reasonable compensation.
If an athlete participates in prohibited PBA activities it will result in ineligibility.
Some prohibited PBA include any activity that represents an IHSAA school member. Nor can the student athlete participate in activity that promotes gaming or gambling, alcohol, to-bacco, cannabis, illegal or banned substances, sexually explicit material or firearms or weapons.
PBA activities offered to entice a student to attend any member school as a recruitment tool are prohibited.
In another proposal to use a 35-second shot clock in boys and girls varsity basketball games was not passed. The vote was one in favor and 17 opposed.
In polls conducted by the Indiana High School Basketball Association, 68 percent of boy and girls high school coaches were in favor of a shot clock. However, in eight area adminis-trator meeting held state-wide, the shot clock proposal was favorable to 79 administrators with 245 school administrators opposing shot clocks.
