Team Insight

9 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2023 teaminsightmag.com 10 NIL & High Schools With Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) issues reaching all the way down to high schools, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) attempted to get ahead of the curve with a course that detailed the expectations and realities of NIL in the current interscholastic landscape. e NFHS had pre- viously and publicly expressed its concerns about NIL reaching the high school landscape and the impact it could have on high school sports. Meanwhile, at the college level the NCAA Division I Board of Directors sought to take the lead in regulation and enforcement and voted unanimously to clar- ify how schools can be involved with NIL activities. Team dealers and vendors looking to play the NIL game needed to take notice of these new guidelines, which included things like Education/ Monitoring for current students, school support for student-athlete NIL activities and school involve- ment with collectives and other NIL entities. Both were admirable attempts to get ahead of the NIL curve, which, if 2023 proved anything, is moving faster than anyone can anticipate. 9 Welcome to the Hall While there were not any pure team dealers as part of the Sporting Goods Hall of Fame Class of 2024, two of the soon-to- be-inducted members certainly have had an impact on the team business. The four iconic fig- ures set to enter the Hall next May included Rawlings' Mike ompson and Cathy Pryor, of Hibbett Sports. e other two inductees were Glenn Barrett (OrthoLite) and Karsten Solheim (Ping Golf). ompson's 40-year career at Rawlings includes his current role as the company's chief marketing officer, where he has spearheaded the creation and management of both the sports and digital marketing departments at the company. Pr yor, a 32-year veteran of Hibbett Sports, served as SVP–store operations and was instrumental in the company growing from 28 stores to more than 1000 and $1 billion in sales. Moreover, she served the indus- try for eight years on the NSGA Board of Directors and was its first female Board Chair from 2019-20. She was also on the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Committee for more than a decade. 8 Girls' Flag Scores Big Proving its growing popu- larity and strength in team sports, flag football became of- ficially California Cool when the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the statewide body that governs high school athletics in the country's largest state, voted to make girls' high school flag football a fully sanc- tioned sport. e vote in California was a reflection of the growing level of interest in flag football in the local recreational youth leagues and the growing level of support from the NFL. e three NFL teams in the state – the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers – are committed FROM 10 TO 1 THE YEAR IN TEAM SPORTS It has been quite a year in team sports. We rank the top 10 stories with a look ahead to 2024. By Michael Jacobsen TEAM TRENDS U.S. Marine Corps photo by Kristen Wong

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