Del. state senator would pursue split of private, public school sports if NIL implemented

Upset by name/image/likeness opportunity perhaps coming to Delaware high school sports, an elected state government official intends to seek an unprecedented competitive split for First State teams.

Sen. Eric Buckson, a Dover Republican, may propose legislation barring public and private schools from competing against each other, as they long have as Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association members.

The DIAA board of directors tentatively approved Jan. 18 new regulations allowing Delaware student-athletes to profit from use of their name, image and likeness, as NCAA athletes and those in nearly 40 other states may, including nearby Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.

An NIL contract cannot include the DIAA’s or a school’s name, colors, logos, mascots or acronyms, including on the student’s apparel, and school facilities may not be involved. Final approval, however, did not occur at Thursday’s DIAA board meeting, as it once again tabled the issue until March for what board member Dorrell Green termed "further evaluation." The State Board of Education must also endorse the rules before they are adopted.

If that happens, Buckson said he will introduce his bill “as a last option,” though it could get strong opposition from the state Senate and House of Representatives, both controlled by Democrats.

“The premise of NIL came about because colleges and the NCAA are a billion-dollar industry making money off the athletes,” Buckson told Delaware Online/The News Journal on Wednesday afternoon. “Using that model and applying it to Newark High School is ridiculous.”

NIL ON THE WAY: Athletes discuss name/image/likeness opportunity coming to high school sports

Buckson has a long association with high school sports, having been a Caesar Rodney wrestler, wrestling coach and athletic director at Polytech and working as a referee. His plans were first reported by WBOC.com, the CBS-TV affiliate in Salisbury, Maryland.

“The evidence is clear,” Buckson said. “The private schools have a distinct advantage. Anyone who thinks they don’t is not being honest to the situation. When you add the NIL, you’re gonna tip the scales so far that balance is going to be so unfair. And I’m not gonna sit by and not try to do something about that.”

Athletes typically earn NIL opportunities in six areas – autographs, appearances, merchandise, camps and instruction, product endorsements and social media promotion and posting, according to an NIL prep kit published by Triple Threat Leadership for high school administrators. Social media promotion and posting of apparel brands is most popular. Financial reward could be from actual payments, gift cards, merchandise, travel, meals or discounts on products or services.

Buckson contends that implementing NIL will further expand the void that exists between traditional public schools and private schools. Others have also expressed concerns, including DIAA executive director David Baylor.

Private schools won 23 of the 37 DIAA team championships during the 2022-23 school year. They’d won 26 of 37 in 2021-22. So far in 2023-24, only fall sports and indoor track have determined DIAA team champions. Private schools have won 10 of the 14.

Those differences would increase, Buckson said, if NIL is allowed.

The competitive gap has been most apparent in northern New Castle County, where all city of Wilmington students, long before the advent of NIL, have been bused to suburban high schools since court-ordered desegregation in 1978. The public high schools that make up the Blue Hen Conference have seen decreasing numbers of students from their communities attending, many opting instead for the many other educational options provided by private, Catholic, Christian, charter, military and even vocational-technical schools.

That has not been addressed by the state government but has contributed to Blue Hen schools being far less competitive in sports than they once were. The Henlopen Conference, consisting of public, vo-tech and charter schools in Kent and Sussex counties, has been much better able to hold its own athletically compared with its upstate counterparts, evidenced by Sussex Academy winning Division II boys soccer, Smyrna prevailing in volleyball, Cape Henlopen taking Division I field hockey and Delmar continuing its Division II hockey mastery last fall in DIAA tournaments.

“Essentially, you’re asking Glasgow High School to have their best player picked off by one of the private schools up north,” Buckson said, “and then ask Glasgow to go compete against them.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eric Buckson eyes split of private, public school sports if NIL comes