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Board to revisit name‑image‑likeness policy for high school athletes; district staff recommend central approval
Summary
Board discussed high school NIL (name, image and likeness) rules, district staff recommended superintendent or board approve use of school logos in athlete NIL deals; NEOLA policy and FHSAA guidance to be considered.
The Hernando County School Board and district staff discussed high school name, image and likeness (NIL) issues and agreed to bring the district’s NEOLA policy back for review.
District athletic director Dustin Kupch explained that NIL, which originated in college athletics, allows athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. He said that while student athletes may enter commercial agreements, using school logos, uniforms or facilities requires written approval. Kupch said the FHSAA and model NEOLA language had been used by many districts and that leaving approval to individual schools could create inconsistency and competitive imbalances across the district.
Kupch said athletic and administrative staff preferred that permission for a student to use district logos or uniforms be decided at a single district level rather than by individual principals, to avoid “have and have‑not” effects between schools and inconsistent approvals over time. Board members agreed to bring the NEOLA policy language back for formal consideration, and staff said they would return with a recommended governance approach for approvals and fee handling.
No changes were adopted at the informal meeting; staff will return with proposed policy language and recommendations on whether any fees collected for district logo use should be deposited to the general fund to offset athletic budgets.
