Delaware

Delaware athletes can make money from ads, but one high school went way too far

Published

2 years ago

October 30, 2024

Delaware athletes can make money from ads, but one high school went way too far

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This month Delaware joined the growing list of states that permit high school athletes to earn money from their “name, image and likeness” without jeopardizing their eligibility to play.

Scholastic athletes in America are piggybacking on what their collegiate counterparts have been able to do since 2021. Some NCAA stars, such as former University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark and current University of Colorado football quarterback Shedeur Sanders, have become millionaires under the so-called NIL rules even before turning pro.

In Delaware, however, appearing in commercials filmed at the school and displaying its logo, or wearing your team uniform, has been explicitly banned at least since 2005 by the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA), which governs high school sports. That rule remains in effect, even with the new NIL rules.

So what were Indian River High School’s administrators and coaches thinking last month when they let more than 20 football players appear in a 30-second TV spot for Hershey Exteriors, a Sussex County remodeling and roofing contractor?

The players wore their full uniforms and pads and were seated inside the school’s stadium. Three players stood and spoke, and two coaches also had speaking lines.

Indian River school and district officials won’t say what led them to shoot the ad whose production was in clear violation of longstanding state policies.

But the DIAA immediately began investigating, and last week formally reprimanded Indian River for “failure to comply with DIAA regulations concerning student-athlete eligibility and amateur status,” the agency said in a news release.

“While no direct compensation or benefits were provided to the students or school personnel, the participation in the commercial jeopardized the amateur status of the student-athletes.”

DIAA would not provide the reprimand letter to WHYY News. Spokeswoman Caitlin Finkley said the reason is because the disciplinary action is still “currently going through the legal process.”

The TV spot featuring Indian River High football players and coaches clearly violated state rules. (Hershey Exteriors ad)

But the agency’s news release said the Indian River players and coaches “participated in the commercial under the supervision of the [school] athletic department” and that “violations of these regulations risk compromising the integrity of Delaware’s high school sports programs.”

State rules stipulate that players could be banned from competition for ads like the one Indian River participated in, but DIAA decided not to penalize the students. All are still eligible to play for the Dagsboro school’s football team, which currently has a 7-1 record and is on track for a berth in the Division 1A playoffs for Delaware’s smaller schools.

Indian River Athletic Director Todd Fuhrman did not respond to a request from WHYY News about why he let the student-athletes appear in the commercial, which violated the rule and jeopardized their eligibility to play and amateur status.

Draper Media, which creates advertising for stations such as WBOC, an affiliate of Fox and NBC that is based in Salisbury, Maryland, and reaches Delaware’s Sussex and Kent counties, produced the Indian River spot.

Tyler Hershey, who owns Hershey Exteriors, said his sales rep at WBOC recommended making the ad and told him Indian River administrators had given it the green light. Officials at WBOC would not comment.

As part of the reprimand, DIAA directed Indian River to ask Draper Media and WBOC-TV to “remove the commercial from further broadcasts.”

District spokesman David Maull would not agree to an interview but said in an email that “the ad was actually pulled by the advertiser” earlier this month. Indian River High principal Michael Williams sent a letter last week to “Draper Media/WBOC” and asked them to remove the commercial “per our state athletic association request.”

While Maull would not disclose why Indian River permitted the commercial using players, coaches, uniforms, and the school stadium, he issued a statement that said the district is “grateful this issue will not affect the hard work of our team, coaches and volunteers.”

Maull added that “district officials commit to a thorough understanding of all DIAA regulations moving forward to prevent another issue arising in the future.”

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Delaware

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Published

10 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Thomas Jefferson University is opening a regional campus of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Delaware, an effort that will result in the state’s first medical school.

Jefferson beat out three other bidders to establish the four-year program in partnership with the state. The other bidders were the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico, Spotlight Delaware reported.

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The inaugural class of 40 medical students will begin instruction in July 2028. Initially, the campus will be based at the University of Delaware in Newark, with Jefferson faculty providing instruction. A permanent home for the campus is still being finalized, the Inquirer reported.

The medical students will receive 18 months of preclinical training on campus before receiving clinical training from healthcare providers in Delaware’s southern counties, where the state’s physician shortage is most deeply felt. That shortage is compounded by an aging population, Delaware officials said.

“Jefferson is committed to being part of the solution to Delaware’s physician shortage,” Jefferson CEO Dr. Joseph Cacchione said in a statement. “We are proud to help build a future where every Delawarean has access to the care they deserve. Jefferson is all in.”

The school’s creation is being supported by $157.4 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Delaware is one of three states without a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program. Since the late 1960s, Jefferson and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine have reserved seats for Delaware students.

“Sidney Kimmel Medical College has trained generations of physicians for more than 200 years, more than any other medical college in the country,” Said Ibrahim, dean of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, said in a statement. “It is a privilege to bring our mission to Delaware’s patients and communities.”

Jefferson has announced several expansions recently. The university is establishing a full-time doctor of nursing practice-nurse anesthesia program and several online graduate programs at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Center for Healthcare Education in Lehigh County. It also is opening a satellite respiratory therapy lab at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown.

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Delaware

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Published

20 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Delaware officials said medical students will start their classroom instruction at UD and then do their clinical training at offices and health care systems in Kent and Sussex counties, where the shortage of doctors is most acute.

However, ChristianaCare, which has its own partnership with Jefferson, is not participating. The state’s largest health care system was part of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s unsuccessful bid to operate the school. In a joint statement from ChristianaCare and PCOM, the two organizations expressed disappointment with not being part of the consortium of higher education institutions and healthcare organizations.

“The path forward raises genuine questions about whether the school’s goals can be fully realized without ChristianaCare’s meaningful participation in its clinical training mission,” it said. “The success of any four-year medical program depends not just on an academic institution, but on a true and committed partnership with its clinical partners — one built on shared mission, mutual investment and trust developed over time.”

Students in the first class can get their tuition subsidized, covering all of their education costs, in exchange for an agreement to work in rural Delaware for five years.

Running the medical school is expected to cost Jefferson $78 million over the next five years. The money is from a federal rural health grant through the Rural Health Transformation Program, which congressional Republicans created in the so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”

The program will give $50 billion to every state over five years, though exactly the total each will eventually receive is unclear. Half of the money is to be distributed equally to states and the other half is awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on a variety of factors.

The state applied for $1 billion late last year to improve health care in Kent and Sussex counties. The Trump administration has so far allocated Delaware $157 million. Delaware is expected to receive at least $500 million over the life of the fund.

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