(1-11-22) The National Interscholastic Basketball Conference could be the end of high school basketball as we know it.

When you see what is taking place with the NIBC, you will see how the commercialization of boys high school basketball is here to stay.

Rashid Ghazi, commissioner of the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) and president of Paragon Marketing Group.

“The NIBC represents the highest level of high school basketball and academic institutions in the country, We are proud to work with ESPN to bring this unprecedented high school television and streaming schedule to fans.”

“With games being canceled last season due to COVID, the NIBC schools created a series of contests among themselves and brought us in to help manage the events, secure sponsorship revenue, and place the games on the ESPN networks. During the course of the season, the schools realized the power of building their brands together and we worked with them over the past several months to put a formal conference together. We believe the tradition and history of the six schools combined with the expertise of Paragon creates a winning formula that will make the NIBC truly unique in the world of high school sports.”

The NIBC is comprised of eight member institutions from seven different state:

  • Bishop Walsh School (Cumberland, Md.)
  • IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
  • La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.)
  • Legacy Early College (Greenville, S.C.)
  • Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
  • Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)
  • Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)
  • Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)

Yes the above eight teams feature some of the top ranked high school players in America…the majority who have been ‘cherry picked’ and left their hometown schools. Players made up of all star players, who can play at or transfer to any of the above schools or others like them. It has created an active transfer portal for high school players.

State high school athletic associations are regularly dealing with transfers of top players that decide to move to any school they want to at anytime…thanks to loop holes in the transfer rules. The transfer portal is also working in high schools settings.

Paragon Marketing, ESPN, the Marines, GEICO, Chipotle and Gatorade as National partners, marketing will continue to grow and branding of the NIBC.

The NIBC has national tv exposure on a weekly basis…ESPN will air 38 games of the NIBC with exclusive coverage of the U.S. Marines NIBC Series, which began on Thursday, Dec. 2, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 5. The slate will feature seven games on ESPNU and an additional 31 contests on ESPN+.

In order for this to work the income from the marketing effort needs to be at a very high level…when you see teams flying from one coast to another coast that takes funding. The expenses incurred by programs by bringing in players from around the country has to be enormous, the expenses for housing, schooling etc.

The situation has intensified each year, is it good for high school basketball? Are we seeing the impact of the AAU programs creeping into the picture? What are state athletic associations doing to handle the impact of transfers and programs like the NIBC?

Did you know?

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In Ohio member schools of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) are allowed to compete with any school or basketball program…regardless if that program has an affiliation with a state athletic association. This weekend in Dayton, Ohio at the Flyin’ To The Hoop that will happen, including a team from Finland.

Flyin To The Hoop, in the past has had NIBC schools compete…this weekend they will all be in Springfield, Mass competing in an NIBC event.