Page 21 - 2024 Annual Report

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Transfer The Altered Landscape Student-Athlete Transfers

Are Not a New Issue
of Amateur Athletics
Policy Two prominent factors in this drastic Before the current trends within amateur
transformation within amateur athletics are
athletics, student-athlete transfers have
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and
always been a complex issue for the
transfer portals. Both emphasize individual
Association—as it never wants to deprive any
success over a commitment to one’s team.
student of learning from the education-based
athletics curriculum.
When education and commitment to
community take a back seat to playing time Throughout its 120-plus-year history, IHSAA
and the development of one’s brand, the core bylaws have always been rooted in a deep
values of education-based athletics commitment to safeguarding the integrity of
are compromised. high school athletics, nurturing the spirit of fair
play, and providing an opportunity for student-
With more dollars invested in NIL deals and athletes to learn and grow through competition.
collegiate transfers threatening to alter the
education-based athletic landscape, it will Suppose policies are not implemented to
likely influence the motivations of high school prevent student-athletes from transferring
student-athletes and their parents, potentially for athletic reasons. In that case, the pride of
encouraging more transfers motivated by representing a particular school community
athletic reasons. will diminish, and the purity of school sports
will fade into obscurity.

At the high school level, no community should
be overshadowed by a super team comprised
of the best athletes plucked from surrounding
communities. Additionally, no student-athlete
should be deprived of the opportunity to
One way the Association protects and preserves the compete at the expense of another student-
lessons learned in education-based athletics is by athlete who switches schools solely for sports-
creating and administering fair transfer policies. related reasons.

Every edition of the Annual Report highlights When looking at the current landscape of
the achievements of the academic year that amateur athletics, it is undoubtedly a different
are worthy of celebration. However, another world than a decade ago. The stark contrast
purpose of the Annual Report is to offer suggests that sports have been prioritized
stakeholders insight into the Association’s over all else, especially education. High school
policies and how these policies will ensure the sports associations nationwide should take
success of high school sports for generations this as a warning sign.
to come.

20 INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL A THLETIC A S SOCIA TION ANNUAL REPORT 2024 INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL A THLETIC A S SOCIA TION ANNUAL REPORT 2024 21