What's Prohibited Under Rule 5-7 — and What a Violation Actually Costs

Indiana's Personal Branding Activity rule creates real opportunity. It also creates a way to lose a season — and, in one scenario most summaries miss, considerably more than a season.

Rule 5-7.3 does not hedge. It opens by stating that the activities it lists are prohibited and "shall result in ineligibility." Rule 5-7.5(a) sets the standard consequence: up to 365 days from the date of violation, in the sport concerned.

What follows is the prohibited side of the rule. Five prohibitions, one procedural duty, then enforcement. It is a summary — the rule itself is two pages at the IHSAA.

The short version

An activity is a problem if it:

1. Represents or references your school
2. Involves one of the seven restricted categories
3. Uses athletic skills in connection with a member school
4. Comes from a PBA collective tied to a member school
5. Is offered to entice you to attend a particular high school
6. Goes unreported to your athletic director for more than 48 hours

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