NIL 'not gonna go away' despite strikedown at WIAA annual meeting Wednesday

STEVENS POINT - Student-athletes in Wisconsin will remain prohibited from profiting off of their name, image and likeness (NIL) after a proposal to adopt NIL language in the WIAA constitution was struck down in a vote of 170 member schools in favor and 219 opposed.

At the WIAA annual meeting at Sentry Theater in Stevens Point, a proposal to afford student-athletes the opportunity to profit off of NIL while maintaining eligibility was one of three constitutional amendments voted on by member schools. A separate amendment approved Wednesday allows schools to conduct youth programming for students in grade eight and below "outside of the season of competition for providing camps or clinics" during the school year, as well as youth programming during the summer. That amendment passed by a 381-9 margin.

The third amendment voted on by WIAA membership concerned a school's right to protest an ejection via the submission of "one original, unedited video for review, after the conclusion of the game" to the WIAA. This proposal passed by a vote of 387-1.

NIL 'a conversation that's not gonna go away'

Despite the vote that went roughly 56-44 percent against adopting NIL language Wednesday, WIAA executive director Stephanie Hauser maintained that the topic would be revisited. Hauser said the WIAA was monitoring straw polls conducted by the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association (WADA) in the weeks leading up to Wednesday's vote, and were concerned about the number of undecided voters. Those results led the WIAA to hold a statewide athletic director's Zoom call with more than 200 athletic directors in conjunction with WADA on Monday to attempt to address questions and concerns leading up to Wednesday's annual meeting. Prior to the casting of paper ballots on Wednesday, WIAA attorney Brent Jacobson of the Anderson O'Brien Law Firm also spoke to the assembled district reps about the two paths he felt could inevitably bring NIL to high school sports in Wisconsin.

"One would be through state legislation, and the other would be through lawsuits," Jacobson said.

Jacobson advised the membership that allowing the state legislature to set the rule of law on the matter of NIL would forfeit the WIAA's current window of control over the issue.

"Then once (legislative measures) are passed and signed into law, we’re left with policing that, enforcing that within the context of all of our other rules," Jacobson said.

He also discussed the context of the NCAA v. Alston U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2021, and relevant portions of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act legislation in that case. His conclusion on that precedent as it pertained to the issue of NIL at the high school level was simple: "Action is likely to deter litigation."

Wednesday's vote does not conclude action on the matter according to Hauser. The WIAA will be reaching out to member schools to gather input on the proposed language and what concerns were had by those opposed.

"We’ll start those conversations in the fall with area meetings, with potentially having (a) new amendment for them to consider, and our hope is to be right back here next year to vote on it again," Hauser said.

The WIAA executive director also acknowledged the 'elephant in the room' as she called it with regard to student-athlete transfers in the college ranks since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. While she understood why that climate may create pause among high school athletic directors considering similar allowances, she pointed out two critical distinctions that high school athletic associations have from the college level.

"If you transfer, and it’s not a complete and total move by your family, there are eligibility implications. So right there, that completely changes what we’re seeing at the college level, which they are allowed to transfer. Undue influence is not allowed at the high school level. You cannot recruit, you cannot lure someone to come to your school and take away from another member school. Those are the two pieces, those are foundations of high school athletic programs, and so that’s, if you read the NIL language that we have proposed, that preserves our transfer rules and our undue influence recruiting rules," Hauser said.

The perception that opening the door for NIL is creating a vast and uncontrollable market at the high school level does not reconcile with data Hauser said the WIAA has reviewed in the other 31 states currently allowing NIL.

"We’re talking about less than one percent of high school athletes having this opportunity. Even when they are given the opportunity, it’s not the kind of deals you’re hearing about at the college level," Hauser said. "It’s very, very small opportunities. Maybe it’s to be a social media influencer for a product. Maybe it’s to be in a commercial for a local clinic that did your ACL surgery, or a fitness center. They’re very different than what you’re seeing at the college level."

Hauser said the association will be getting to work to correct misnomers and ensure resources are in place to help facilitate a transition to NIL. The WIAA has partnered with Advance NIL, an education resource on NIL opportunities, to help lay that groundwork prior to another membership vote.

"People are now allowing this, and so it’s, again it’s a conversation that’s not gonna go away," Hauser said. "We’re hopefully going to be right back here next year voting again."

Competitive balance remains hot button issue

A year after it passed in a similarly contentious vote by a 265-115 margin, the competitive balance plan was referred to by multiple speakers during the open forum period of the annual meeting. Pewaukee AD Jeff Behrens led comments on the matter with a scathing review of a the early returns of the plan, which he claimed was not applied to its intent nor transparent in its process. He specifically pointed to appeals information being limited as an area he would like to see the WIAA be more transparent.

"Are we striving for balance, or punishing success?" Behrens asked rhetorically towards the end of his remarks.

After Troy Ingli of Pepin and Tim Lipke of Rice Lake also spoke on the matter expressing similar concerns, competitive balance chair Doug Parker provided a response on behalf of the plan. In his remarks, he assured the plan would be reviewed after the spring sports reclassifications occur in July, with any proposed revisions being sent to the WIAA board of control meeting in August. In regards to the lack of transparency, Parker explained that schools were not originally solicited on whether they would like their appeals to be public. He added that it will be a point of discussion at upcoming area membership meetings this fall.

Season length, game maximums and coach contact also discussed

While other issues were raised during the annual meeting's open forum that ranged from concerns about divisional basketball placements, electronic seeding and 8-player football, another topic multiple district reps chimed in on was season length. Oak Creek athletic director and baseball coach Scott Holler spoke first on the issue specifically as it pertained to baseball and softball, advocating against revised start and end dates for the spring sports that would push each season a week further into June beginning in the spring of 2025. His argument included the claim that many travel programs start their seasons in mid June, thus creating potential conflicts with the conclusion of WIAA seasons and start of travel baseball and softball.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: NIL 'not gonna go away' despite strikedown at WIAA annual meeting