NFHS Voice: Amateurism Benefits
October 9, 2019
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
While we addressed a number of important issues with our member state associations at section meetings the past month, perhaps none of the topics are as significant as the tremor that occurred in California on September 30 – the signing of the “Fair Pay to Play Act” by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Although there are more questions than answers at this point, this ruling would allow college athletes in the state of California to make money from their name, image and likeness through endorsement deals, sponsorships, autograph signings and other opportunities. The legislation is due to take effect in 2023.
Obviously, the NCAA opposes this legislation and is working through its governance structure to address the issue. As Mark Emmert, NCAA president, told the Indianapolis Star, “for all intents and purposes, athletes become employees of the schools. This is just a new form of professionalism and a different way of converting students into employees.”
And since it would not work for athletes in one state to be receiving money legally while athletes in the other 49 could not, a national bill similar to California’s is already being considered by U. S. Representative Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio.
Needless to say, the NFHS and its member state associations oppose the California ruling as it could further erode the concept of amateurism in the United States. At the high school level, current issues with parents pushing their kids into specialization in the fight for scholarships would only be exacerbated as they considered the “best offer” from colleges.
In the aforementioned Indianapolis Star article, Emmert noted the following: “Under the California law, there would be complete elimination of all of those rules (regulations related to shoe companies). It would also include the use of agents in that process and the agent could represent high school students.”
There is nothing more sacred and fundamental to the past – and future – history of high school sports in the United States than the concept of amateurism. While this California ruling addresses college sports directly, it undoubtedly would have an impact on sports at the high school level as well.
The signing of the “Fair Pay to Play Act” comes on the heels of the Alston v. NCAA case earlier this year in which a federal judge in California found the NCAA’s scholarship rules to be illegal – to a point. The NFHS filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the NCAA noting the following:
“Amateurism in athletics is not only valuable for its own sake, but also is a key aspect of a well-rounded education. The NFHS is concerned that the district court’s opinion does not fully appreciate either the concept of amateurism or the many benefits it brings to college and high school sports – and to American sports in general.
“... If amateurism were to give way to professionalism at the collegiate level ... high schools would struggle to fulfill their ultimate goal of preparing large numbers of well-rounded individuals for futures beyond athletics. … The NCAA should be afforded the freedom to define amateurism in a way that preserves the ideal of the student-athlete in higher education which would protect important values of education-based sports at all levels.”
The NFHS will continue to support the NCAA in its efforts to preserve amateurism as it is our belief that paying student-athletes – whether it is in the form of selling one’s name, image or likeness, or whether it eventually becomes a paycheck – will erode the spirit of sport at all levels in this country.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.
Century of School Sports: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 28, 2025
The beginning of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) predated the start of the MHSAA by about 4½ years. But Michigan played a leading role in creating the national organization for school-based sports and arts activities – and through its work with the NFHS continues to impact how school sports are played across the country.
On May 14, 1920, representatives from the Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin high school associations met to discuss common issues – especially national championships and eligibility rules in football, as returning World War I veterans were seeking to play on high school teams; and, according to meeting minutes, because “high school athletics were being handled in an unsatisfactory manner in contests under the auspices of colleges and universities.” At this time, Michigan school sports were governed by the MHSAA’s predecessor organization – the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) – and president A.W. Krauss, the principal at Grand Rapids South High School, represented our state.
Building on their desire to form common rules to govern athletics, those five states together formed the framework for the Mid-West Federation of State High School Associations, and the MIAA officially voted to join the organization March 31, 1921, becoming one of the four founding states (Indiana was absent when the Mid-West Federation constitution was adopted). Just about a year later, on March 1, 1922, with 11 states now present, the Mid-West Federation changed its name to the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations – which became the current NFHS in 1970.
Representing the MIAA at the 1922 Federation meeting was Ann Arbor High School principal L.L. Forsythe – cited frequently for his outsized contributions during this “Century of School Sports” series – and he was elected as Federation vice president, a role in which he served for 15 years. Obviously his impact in that role was significant for the growing organization, which now includes associations from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Another Michigan school sports luminary, retired executive director John E. Jack Roberts, also had significant ties to the NFHS. He served on staff from 1973-80 and was heavily involved with the implementation of Title IX at the local and state levels. He also made immense contributions as the NFHS representative to the landmark Amateur Sports Act of 1978, and played a significant role in the NFHS rules-writing process as the organization started writing and publishing rules for a number of new sports during the 1970s. Roberts began his 32-year tenure leading the MHSAA in 1986.
The NFHS’s primary contribution to state associations remains today as writer of game rules for nearly all school sports, and those rules govern the majority of MHSAA-sponsored programs. (Competitive cheer is exclusive to Michigan, and golf, tennis and bowling are regulated by national governing organizations).
By agreeing to follow NFHS game rules, the MHSAA receives the opportunity to help make them, serving turns on rules-making committees with other representatives from the NFHS’s Section 4 – which also includes Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. Michigan also sends a rotating representative to serve on the national record book committee.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
(Map graphic courtesy of NFHS.)