NIL policy for Pa. high school athletes clears 2nd hurdle, could be finalized in December

By: Chris Harlan
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | 7:28 PM

MECHANICSBURG — One of Western Pennsylvania’s largest hospital networks had to revamp an advertising campaign that featured WPIAL athletes after the PIAA pointed out the ads violated its rules.

Right now, ads featuring high school athletes are rare, but those like Allegheny Health Network’s soon could be commonplace. That’s because the PIAA took another step toward approving a groundbreaking name, image and likeness policy Tuesday, while warning there’s a lot to learn for athletes, high schools and businesses.

“That’s why it’s important for us to get in front of this, and an educational component would be so helpful,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said.

The PIAA board approved its NIL proposal on a second reading and also voted Tuesday to endorse a Philadelphia-based company, Advance, as a recommended NIL source for student-athlete education. The third and final reading for the NIL proposal could come when the board meets in December.

The PIAA said two dozen states already have an NIL policy in place for high school athletes, but some school administrators and coaches here have expressed concerns about potential negative impacts.

“This has been a good conversation piece for schools,” Lombardi said, “but I do anticipate it will pass.”

The NIL policy was first discussed in July.

There were some changes made to the policy since. Among them, the PIAA on Tuesday added three recommended levels of discipline for violators. A first offense would result in a warning. A second offense would cost an athlete 50% of the season. A third offense would lead to one year of ineligibility in a sport.

The PIAA previously said coaches, school administrators and alumni could not be involved in NIL deals with students, but now added “collectives,” which it defined as “individuals or companies” who combine efforts “to provide NIL opportunities to student-athletes of a specific school.”

Also added was a requirement that all NIL deals be reported to the school’s athletic director.

Lombardi said the PIAA needs a clearly defined policy in place to avoid situations like what occurred with Allegheny Health Network. The hospital system launched an ad campaign that featured WPIAL athletes, including Belle Vernon football player Quinton Martin, but some violated PIAA amateur-status rules by using school uniforms, Lombardi said.

With or without NIL deals, student-athletes are already prohibited from wearing school uniforms in such ads.

“Put him in a generic uniform,” Lombardi said of Martin. “Generic colors. Don’t use his number, just to be safe. And it’s good.”

Lombardi said football teams ran into similar issues years ago by putting their team photo on cereal boxes. Those teams ultimately avoided any eligibility issue by editing the photos to make the uniforms blank.

The new NIL policy keeps in place that restriction on school-identifying clothing.

Lombardi said the AHN ads were brought to the PIAA’s attention and AHN representatives fixed the issue.

“They said, ‘Oh, we didn’t know,’ ” Lombardi said.

The PIAA intends to refer parents, students and schools to Advance, the company it voted Tuesday to endorse. The company, based in Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio, created an NIL educational program for NFHS.

Board business

• The PIAA moved a step closer to a major overhaul of its competitive-balance rule, which forces successful football and basketball teams that also added transfers into a higher classification.

The proposal the board considered Tuesday would eliminate the transfer element of the formula and expand the rule to include all team sports. The formula measures success in the state playoffs over a two-year period. To take effect, the proposal must pass one more vote, likely in December.

The proposed changes survived a 14-13 vote Tuesday.

• The board approved brackets for the state basketball tournaments for the 2023 and 2024 postseasons.

One noticeable change comes in Class 6A boys, where the WPIAL no longer has a Philadelphia Catholic or public league opponent waiting in the state semifinals. A year ago, two District 12 teams met in the 6A boys final, but those Philadelphia teams are now on the same side of the bracket.

The PIAA board is discussing this NIL policy on a second reading. Much more detailed than when we first saw it a few months ago. pic.twitter.com/1bNJZVDYMO

— Chris Harlan (@CHarlan_Trib) October 11, 2022

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.