Representative Council Approves Expansion of Personal Branding Activities for Student-Athletes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 27, 2026
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association has approved an expansion of personal branding activities (PBA) – also commonly referred to as Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) – allowing student-athletes at MHSAA member schools, effective immediately, to potentially benefit from such opportunities.
The MHSAA previously allowed some PBA opportunities, including the abilities for student-athletes to conducts camps, clinics and private lessons. The expanded policy allows student-athletes to capitalize on PBA through several more options as long as those activities are individual opportunities for individual students – while not disrupting competitive equity that would result from the creations of group activities including collectives and other pay-for-play opportunities now the norm at the collegiate level.
The topic of PBA/NIL had been discussed at length with membership over the last three years during MHSAA Update meetings and various other conferences with schools and their administrators. The Council had debated the possibility of these rule changes since the Michigan Legislature proposed amending state law to allow for student-athletes’ use of NIL in 2023, and also after closely monitoring similar developments in surrounding states.
“We have said from the start of this conversation that the MHSAA could be comfortable with a policy that provides individual branding opportunities for individual student-athletes, and this rule change provides those while excluding the possibility of collectives, and boosters and school people getting involved in those activities,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “This is the essence of what NIL was supposed to allow in the first place, and we’re confident we’ve crafted language that allows true NIL opportunities without affecting competitive equity among our member schools.”
Additional activities allowed by the new PBA policy include social media endorsements and promotions, personal appearances, photo sessions or autograph signings; modeling, advertising, merchandise, sports cards or apparel sales; and the use of a student’s name, image or likeness in marketing materials.
PBA activities must be consistent with MHSAA rules and school policies. A student-athlete may not capitalize on PBA based on athletic performances, awards/recognition, team participation or competition outcomes. A student-athlete also may not involve school names, logos, mascots, trademarks or other obvious identifiers, uniforms or other intellectual property, and PBA activity may not occur during school attendance or any MHSAA event (including practice) and cannot take place on school property or be promoted on school media channels.
Schools, including coaches and other employees, are not allowed to solicit, arrange, negotiate or promote PBA activities on behalf of their student-athletes. Doing so may put that school’s MHSAA membership in jeopardy, in addition to rendering that student-athlete ineligible for MHSAA athletics.
“The MHSAA will guard the competitive equity we have promoted for more than 100 years, and take with the utmost seriousness any attempts to break or blur this rule,” Uyl said. “We have provided clear language and sufficient guidance on what is allowed to assist our schools as they navigate this ever-changing landscape.”
PBA associated with products, services, individuals, companies or industries deemed inappropriate, unsafe or inconsistent with the values and goals of interscholastic athletics, as determined by the MHSAA – for example gaming or gambling, alcoholic beverages and banned substances – are also prohibited.
All PBA activities must be disclosed to the MHSAA within seven days of an opportunity or contract for disclosure and approval. Schools may choose to have stricter rules regarding PBA if they choose to do so.
For more details on what is and what is not allowed, and frequently asked questions about PBA in regards to MHSAA regulations, visit the MHSAA Name, Image, Likeness page.
The Representative Council is the legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
MHSAA 2025-26 School Year Classifications Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 7, 2025
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2025-26 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments posted to each sport’s page on the MHSAA Website.
Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was Feb. 12. The enrollment figure submitted for athletic classification purposes may be different from the count submitted for school aid purposes, as it does not include students ineligible for athletic competition because they reached their 19th birthday prior to Sept. 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.
All sports’ tournaments are conducted with schools assigned to equal or nearly equal divisions, with lines dependent on how many schools participate in those respective sports.
For 2025-26, there are 754 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today. MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said a school may not subsequently lower its enrollment figure. However, if a revised enrollment figure is higher and indicates that a school should be playing in a higher division, that school would be moved up.
Three MHSAA Finals champions crowned during the first two seasons of this 2024-25 school year are set to move to new divisions for 2025-26. The Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (11-player Division 2) and Deckerville (8-player Division 1) football teams won titles in November but will move into 11-player Division 3 and 8-player Division 2, respectively, this upcoming season. Holland Christian’s boys tennis team – champion in Lower Peninsula Division 4 this past fall – will move into Lower Peninsula Division 3.
Schools also may request to play in a higher classification or division in a sport for a minimum of two years. Requests to opt up in fall sports for 2025-26 must be submitted by May 1, winter sports by Aug. 14 and spring sports by Oct. 15
Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website to review the divisional alignments for all MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports. Click the “SPORTS” menu at the top of this page to access the page for each sport, then the “Assignments” link on the selected sport page and then “DIVISION LIST” to see the 2025-26 division. Boys volleyball, which will begin play with MHSAA sponsorship in 2025-26, will be classified in September, providing more time to identify the number of schools that will have varsity teams in that sport for its inaugural season.
Traditional classes (A, B, C, D) – formerly used to establish tournament classifications – are used only for MHSAA elections. To determine traditional classifications, after all counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2025-26, there are 188 member schools each in Class A and Class B, and 189 member schools each in Class C and Class D.
Effective with the 2025-26 school year, schools with 788 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 370-787, Class C is 171-369, and schools with enrollments of 170 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased five students from 2024-25, the break between Classes B and C decreased eight students, and the break between Classes C and D is two students higher than for the 2024-25 school year.
The new classification breaks will see 22 schools move up in Class for 2025-26 while 22 schools will move down:
Moving Up from Class B to Class A
Adrian
Bloomfield Hills Marian
Fruitport
Hastings
Marysville
Niles
Owosso
Moving Down from Class A to Class B
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Detroit East English
Linden
Sault Ste. Marie
Sparta
St. Johns
Wayland
Moving Up from Class C to Class B
Clawson
Detroit Central
Hartford
Kent City
Napoleon
Taylor Prep
Warren Michigan Collegiate
Moving Down from Class B to Class C
Clinton Township Clintondale
Constantine
Erie Mason
Fennville
Ishpeming Westwood
Ovid-Elsie
Quincy
Moving Up from Class D to Class C
Benton Harbor Countryside Academy
Detroit Crockett Midtown Science & Medicine
Kalamazoo Phoenix
Fulton
New Buffalo
New Haven Merritt Academy
Traverse City Greenspire
Ubly
Moving Down from Class C to Class D
Ann Arbor Central Academy
Eau Claire
Fowler
Ishpeming
Marine City Cardinal Mooney
Southfield Manoogian
Three Oaks River Valley
Whittemore-Prescott
New Postseason-Eligible Tournament Schools in 2025-26
Ann Arbor Michigan Islamic Academy
Athens Factoryville Christian
Flint Cultural Center
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2025-26
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 788 and above (188 schools)
Class B: 370 – 787 (188)
Class C: 171 – 369 (189)
Class D: 170 and below (189)
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.