SUPPLEMENT NO. 14

REPORT OF THE

NCAA COMMITTEE ON COMPETITIVE SAFEGUARDS

AND MEDICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS

1. ACTION ITEMS.

a. NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) Medical Consultant for Football Issues.

(1) Recommendation. Retain Bryan Smith as the NCAA CSMAS medical consultant to the Football Study Oversight Committee (FSOC) and NCAA Football Rules Committee for one year following his committee term completion. Effective September 1, 2002.

(2) Rationale. The NCAA FSOC began deliberations on health and safety issues primarily associated with out-of-season practices February 1, 2001. Because of his six-year role as competitive safeguards medical consultant to the NCAA Football Rules Committee, Dr. Smith represented the CSMAS on a panel discussion and, also, on subsequent follow-up conference calls and planning sessions.

Currently, a subcommittee representing football issues, football rules, competitive safeguards, student-athletes, athletics administrators and the American Football Coaches Association has been established to develop models for football out-of-season activities throughout the academic year and summer. Dr. Smith has already established himself as a valuable contributor and will be involved in these discussions. He also brings experience with the 1997 modifications of spring football practice. The subcommittee and FSOC discussions will extend beyond August 31, when Dr. Smith’s term expires. Retaining his expertise for another year provides continuity to the entire process.

(3) Budget Impact. The costs will be no more than are currently involved with Dr. Smith’s medical consultant role (i.e. transportation, lodging and incidental costs of attending meetings).

b. CSMAS Composition.

(1) Recommendation. Increase the number of committee members by one to include a truly at-large position. Effective September 1, 2003.

(2) Rationale. The mission of the CSMAS is to provide expertise and leadership to the Association in order to promote a healthy and safe environment for student-athletes through research, education, collaboration and policy development. Service on this committee requires distinct expertise in the fields of sports safety, sports medicine, drug-testing and drug-abuse prevention. CSMAS currently has one position identified as “at-large,” and this position has been filled as needed by a member with expertise in drug testing. Recent concerns have been expressed among the membership that service on this committee has been closed out to truly at-large members. Therefore, CSMAS recommends an additional position be created that will be truly an at-large representative.

(3) Budget Impact. This recommendation would require an increase in funding to support a committee member to attend two annual committee meetings.

c. Sports Medicine Contact Person.

(1) Recommendation. Require each member institution to annually provide to the NCAA the name and contact information of director of sports medicine or equivalent title by July 15. Effective September 1, 2002.

(2) Rationale. The committee has received growing feedback from physicians, athletic trainers and other medical personnel that they are not receiving health and safety information, especially as it pertains to legislation and policy development. Requiring this contact information would establish a formal point of contact from the NCAA office to the institution in this area. A membership database currently exists to store this information.

(3) Budget Implications. Minimal. An additional individual would receive selected additional NCAA mailings.

d. Bylaw 13.12.2.5.1 (Medical Examinations-During Campus Visit) Amendment.

(1) Recommendation. Amend Bylaw 13.12.2.5.1 to add as an additional proviso at the end of the bylaw: "and that the results of the examination are not used by the institution to determine the admission of the prospect."

(2) Rationale. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits a college or university to refuse to admit a prospective student or otherwise to discriminate in admission or recruitment solely because of a physical or mental disability if the student is otherwise qualified for admission. The pre-admission physical exam of a student-athlete to determine preexisting injury or illness would not be a violation of the ADA if 1) the purpose of the exam is not to determine a disability, as defined above, but rather to determine injury or illness that does not substantially limit a major life activity of the student-athlete; and 2) the results of the exam are not shared with the admissions office so that they cannot be used to determine the student-athlete's admission, should a disability, rather than an illness or injury, be discovered during the course of the examination.

e. Banned Drug List for Football Recruits.

(1) Recommendation. Provide information about the NCAA banned drug list and the risks of nutritional supplement use to this summer’s football prospects who participate in an institutional summer conditioning program and as an enclosure with the National Letter of Intent. Effective immediately.

(2) Rationale. The CSMAS has concerns about the inclusion of football prospects in the institutional summer conditioning program and, in general, about the level of education among recruits regarding the NCAA drug-testing program. CSMAS has conducted appeals of positive drug tests involving freshman football players and transfer students who were using legal over-the-counter nutritional supplements containing NCAA banned substances and who claimed no prior knowledge of this risk. Because student-athletes tend to do all they can to stand out, the potential for unwitting illicit performance enhancement through the use of legal over-the-counter nutritional supplements increases with these uninformed student-athletes. At the time of use during the summer, these athletes had not yet been "oriented" by the institution’s drug-education program and had not signed the drug-testing consent. When the NCAA conducted drug-testing in early fall, these student-athletes tested positive from substances still in their system from their summer use. This action would not only relieve the dilemma posed by this situation for the CSMAS during drug-testing appeals, but would also serve as early education and intervention with incoming football student-athletes.

(3) Budget Impact. Implementation of this recommendation would require increase of funds for printing the NCAA banned drug list and nutritional supplement warning, to be enclosed with the National Letter of Intent mailing.

f. DIVISION I ONLY - Year-Round Drug-Testing Program in Division I Baseball.

(1) Recommendation. Conduct either a no-cost/no-penalty pilot drug-testing program or a fully implemented year-round drug-testing program in Division I baseball. Effective September 1, 2002.

(2) Rationale. Concerns about steroid use in the sport of baseball have been reinforced with the recent reports of rampant use in the professional baseball program. In the most recent NCAA study of student-athlete substance use (2001), men’s baseball was the sport with the second highest of the major sports programs and the fourth highest reported steroid use of all sports programs (rifle

and water polo, with small numbers surveyed, and football were the three highest). A pilot program to drug test year round in Division I baseball would serve two purposes: it would provide data to assess the level of banned substance use in this sport, and it would expand the deterrent effect (as demonstrated in football with decreased rates of steroid use since the establishment of year-round drug testing in that sport). A no-cost/no-penalty pilot would borrow two tests from the tests now conducted in Division I football (18) and one each from the tests conducted in Division I men’s and women’s track and field (four).

(3) Budget Impact. The pilot drug-testing option would involve no budget impact, as the four drug tests would be “borrowed” from year-round testing in football and track and field, with no net increase in the number of drug tests conducted. These established drug-testing programs would not be compromised, as institutions would continue to be tested in the same numbers and with the same deterrent effect of the random year-round program.

The fully implemented program would require additional $141,000 of funding per year of implementation ($150 times 4 student-athletes times 235 sites).

g. DIVISION II ONLY - Health and Safety Conference Grants.

(1) Recommendation. CSMAS recommends that the Health and Safety Conference Grants provide for the following:

(a) Coaches' education on issues impacting the health and safety of student-athletes during conditioning, practice and playing.

(b) Conference-wide meetings for medical personnel and athletic trainers at member institutions.

(d) Conference-wide training on nutrition and performance and performance enhancing substance use.

(e) Technology upgrades to allow conferences to access the Web-based ISS.

(2) Rationale. The CSMAS was asked to develop guidelines and suggest possible programs that would assist conferences in planning for this new grant program. The CSMAS noted that Division II institutions individually make good use of the NCAA Speakers Grant Program, which provides up to $500 to an outside expert for health and wellness presentations to student-athletes and athletics personnel on campus. Conference grants could present a systemic approach by training personnel throughout the conference on issues of concern to the health and safety of student-athletes. The CSMAS also noted that the workload of athletic trainers is full, and any additional training needs should rely on outside presenters with expertise in the identified issue.

(3) Budget Impact. The level of programming will be a reflection of the amount Division II has designated for these conference grants.

h. DIVISION II ONLY - Baseball Drug-Testing Pilot.

(1) Recommendation. Extend and expand the drug-testing pilot to include two or four additional players tested at each institution and continue the no-penalty period through December 2002.

(2) Rationale. The drug-testing pilot was conducted in Division II baseball from January through May 2002, testing two randomly selected baseball student-athletes each at 74 institutions that sponsor both football and baseball. This phase of the pilot was conducted at no additional cost by borrowing tests from the number tested in Division II football. The committee notes there was one positive drug test from this pilot study and finds the study inconclusive. The committee recommends expanding the number of student-athletes tested at each site by two or four (to be determined by the Management Council based on budget considerations) to provide a larger sample from which to make recommendations on establishing a fully implemented drug-testing program with penalties. These additional tests would not be borrowed from existing programs, but would require new funding.

(3) Budget Impact. To add two more student-athletes tested at each site would cost $15,000. To add four more to each site would cost $30,000.

2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

a. Pole Vault Rules Modifications. The CSMAS reviewed and approved safety recommendations from the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee regarding pole vault pit modifications and the elimination of “tapping”. (See Attachment A.)

b. Out-of-Season Conditioning and Pre-Season Practice. The CSMAS reviewed practice options proposed by the NCAA Division III Management Council. The following are general issues to be considered by all divisions regarding out-of-season conditioning and pre-season practice:

(1) Preseason Practice Opportunities. The committee agreed that 20 preseason practice opportunities seemed appropriate for most sports as long as compression in the fall season was not extreme [Item No. 4 below] and the student-athletes came in with a base level of fitness. Football offered unique challenges and might warrant extra days due to the extra acclimatization demands of the sport as noted below.

(2) Acclimatization. Scientific literature recommends seven to 14 days for acclimatization to the heat. Larger individuals, those in poor fitness and individuals wearing equipment (which decreases the body’s ability to cool) generally will take longer to acclimate. For sports with protective equipment, acclimatization should occur in phases, initially without equipment and then gradually adding equipment in stages.

(3) Resources. The CSMAS continues to emphasize that every practice or contest has a “cost” in terms of medical resources prior to, during and after the activity. Any practice or game, including out-of-season conditioning, should incorporate the recommendations contained in NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook Guideline 1f regarding medical care and coverage. [Attachment B]. Increasing practice times or opportunities extends a medical staff that also is needed for other sport activities.

(4) Recovery. Recovery from activity is important in minimizing health and safety concerns. Multiple double-session practices make it difficult for student-athletes to maintain appropriate hydration. Fatigue is also an issue as these sessions accumulate. Consideration of recovery in planning out-of-season or pre-season practice schedules in all sports is an essential component of student-athlete welfare. Fall sports are of particular concern because allowable pre-season practice opportunities often are compressed into fewer days (e.g., 29 practice opportunities into 20 days). Football, with its contact nature and protective equipment, is a primary example. Establishing hourly limitations on daily practice opportunities, modifying the interpretation that automatically counts days prior to the start of school as two practice opportunities, and limiting the number or type of activities occurring in double sessions should be considered.