SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – There’s a lot that high school athletes have to deal with: schoolwork, practice, maybe going after a college scholarship.

And now with the changes to Rule 19, transferring to a school that offers better opportunities

“If I’m a good athlete and I want to be a part of a winning team, I may be the best player in a local suburb, and I want to win,” says Kirk Butler, talent president for 90 Ninety One Sports Agency. “If I’m going to want to win, I may have to go to another high school to do so.”

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Butler is a high school sports agent that works with over 80 athletes across the country. He helps them connect with specialized trainers and interact with college coaches. Now, it’s also about connecting with high school coaches

“We can facilitate some of those connections and relationships,” Butler says. “We have a platform tool where an athlete at the high school level can upload videos and send them to prep schools, send them to colleges, send them to junior colleges, community colleges. Because they might not necessarily be able to reach a coach and say, ‘Hey, please take a look at my video.’”

With transferring comes questions about Name Image and Likeness payments. It’s not allowed right now in Indiana, but it could always change.

I asked the IHSAA’s commissioner on how they’re approaching this.

“Our philosophy is this: you can’t sell what you don’t own. You don’t own a school’s uniform. You don’t own their facility. You don’t own their name,” says IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig. “If a student wants to teach somebody how to shoot a basketball or hit a baseball, or a softball, with their own name and they do it on their own, that’s not necessarily something we’re going to get involved in in the future.”

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Academics sometimes feel lost in these conversations, but not for Butler.

“Having the trust in parents to say, ‘Hey listen, we know what your athlete wants,’” Butler explains. “But at the end of the day, the first word in that is student-athlete. I care about your grades first, athletics can go after.”

Because while high school athletes do have a lot to handle, school is the thing that makes everything else possible.

Refresher on Indiana’s Rule 19

Previously if a student transferred schools, they would have to sit out one calendar year and miss all three sports seasons.

Now for a first-time transfer, as long as the student isn’t a senior, they will be immediately eligible to play sports at their new school. Think of it like the transfer portal in college sports.

This rule goes into effect this Sunday, June 1, so we’ll be seeing the first students use it heading into next school year’s fall season.

There are still many moving parts within Rule 19. Our WNDU 16 Sports team will have more breakdowns and explainers throughout the week on WNDU 16 News Now and WNDU.com.

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