REPORT OF THE
NCAA COMPETITIVE SAFEGUARDS AND
Association-wide.
a. Orthopedic Specialist Position on the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS).
(1) Recommendation. To adopt noncontroversial or emergency legislation to amend the committee composition to indicate that one of the three medicine positions be designated for an orthopedic specialist. Effective immediately.
(2) Rationale. The CSMAS is charged with providing research and direction to the Association on student-athlete health and safety, including sports injury. A member with orthopedic specialty provides the committee expertise required to direct and interpret research on orthopedic issues and provides a direct link to the field of orthopedic specialists. Effective in the next legislative cycle as noncontroversial legislation.
(3) Budget Impact. None.
b. Consultant (Interim Period) of
Orthopedic Specialist.
(1) Recommendation. To appoint an orthopedic specialist as a consultant to the CSMAS on an interim basis until such time a position vacancy occurs and an appropriate candidate is identified, or an orthopedic specialist position is legislated on the CSMAS. The next opening for a medical position is September 2005. Effective September 2004.
(2) Rationale. The committee lost its orthopedic specialist due to normal committee turnover, and the new appointment to fill the vacant medical slot lacks an orthopedic specialty. The committee is charged with providing research and direction to the Association on student-athlete health and safety, including sports injury. A committee member with orthopedic specialty provides the committee with the expertise required to direct and interpret research on orthopedic issues and provides a direct link to the field of orthopedic specialists. This situation creates a void of expertise until such time as an orthopedic specialist is appointed to the committee. Effective immediately.
(3) Budget Impact. $2000 for a consultant to attend two committee meetings in one year.
c. Nutritional Supplement Legislation [NCAA Bylaw 16.5.2-(g)].
(1) Recommendation. To adopt noncontroversial legislation to create consistent language in all divisions to define nutritional supplements as permissible benefits. Effective immediately.
(2) Rationale. Currently, the language in Bylaw 16 that defines permissible provisions of nutritional supplements varies greatly among the three divisional Manuals. The intent of the legislation is the same for all divisions: to define those nutritional supplements that compensate for loss of fluids, electrolytes and calories lost through physical exertion. The subcommittee proposes that the Division I language in Bylaw 16.5.2-(g) be adopted in Divisions II and III.
(3) Budget Impact. None.
d. Fall Sport Preseason Model.
(1) Recommendation. To adopt an acclimatization and recovery model for all fall sports that includes a preseason beginning in 2004, using the recovery principles established for football. [Attachment A]
(2) Rationale. The CSMAS noted that the next logical step following the successful approval and acknowledgement of the positive benefits of acclimatization and recovery with the football preseason model would be to examine other fall sports with a preseason. Similar to the sport of football, data suggest that heat injuries do occur in other sports that have a fall preseason and the general injury rates in the preseason are three times higher as compared to the regular season. In conjunction with an educational agenda, the CSMAS recommends all fall sports use acclimatization and recovery principles to develop their fall preseason practice models to ensure health and safety and student-athlete welfare.
(3) Budget Impact. None.
e. Educational
Initiative Budget Request.
(1) Recommendation. To establish a health and safety educational materials fund for the CSMAS through Association-wide
or divisional funding to support the development of health and safety materials
for all divisions. Effective September 2004.
(2) Rationale. Each year new health and safety initiatives impact all student-athletes; however, the CSMAS lacks funds to support the development of educational materials. The CSMAS would like to develop, with appropriate funding, educational materials to inform student-athletes of health and safety issues as they arise throughout the year. Examples of recent changes are in football, heat illness, hydration, skin infections, eyewear and nutritional supplements. Educating student-athletes on health and safety issues enhances their ability to participate in the decisions regarding their personal well-being. The committee requests the establishment of an educational materials fund.
(3) Budget Impact. $15,000 annually. This item is the committee?s second priority for new funding initiatives.
Divisions
I and II only.
f. Amendment
to NCAA Drug-Testing Legislation.
(1) Recommendation. To amend NCAA legislation to define institutional responsibility to accommodate NCAA drug testing and to provide a penalty when this responsibility is not met. Effective immediately.
(2)
Rationale. The
Membership services advised that NCAA legislation does not specifically identify as an institutional violation failure to provide this information in a timely manner. Due to this deficit in the legislation, there is no citation that can be made to institutions and Drug Free Sport is forced to repeat requests, creating burdensome demands on that staff and jeopardizing successful administration of drug testing. Clearly defining the institutional responsibility to accommodate NCAA drug testing will strengthen the importance of the requests to accommodate NCAA drug testing.
(3) Budget Impact. None.
g.All-Sport Drug-Testing Plan.
(1) Recommendation. Adoption of an all-sport drug-testing plan in the year-round testing program. Effective September 2004.
(2) Rationale. The NCAA year-round drug-testing currently tests Divisions I and II football, and Division I men?s and women?s track and field. The NCAA 2001 National Drug Use Study identified ephedrine and steroid use in virtually all NCAA sports, and at levels falling within the same range as football and track and field. A plan that continues to test at current levels in football, and randomly identifies four players in a rotational selection of all other sports in Divisions I and II, would provide a deterrent effect to drug use due to the potential for any student-athlete from any sport to be tested at any time throughout the academic year. Details of current testing and comparative data from the 2001 study are included in Attachment B. This recommendation is sent for all divisions to review, as it includes Association-wide budget considerations.
(3) Budget Impact. The committee identified this recommendation as its top priority for budget expansion consideration. Total funding for this expansion is $363,528, detailed on page 4 in Attachment B.
Division I
only.
h. Division I Committee Reporting Structure.
(1) Recommendation. To amend the committee reporting structure from the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet to the Division I Management Council. Effective immediately.
(2) Rationale. This Association-wide committee is required to report recommendations to all three divisions. Currently, the committee reports directly to the Divisions II and II Management Councils. As a result of the current cabinet review process, the Division I Management Council?s reactions to the reports of this committee lag behind the reactions from the Divisions II and III Management Councils, causing a less efficient overall review of the committee?s health and safety recommendations. Establishing a consistent reporting mechanism for all three divisions leads to more efficient reporting and action. Effective immediately.
(3) Budget Impact. None.
i. Committee Position For a Member From the Division I Management Council.
(1) Recommendation. To appoint a representative of the Division I Management Council to serve as a committee member to the CSMAS. Effective September 2004.
(2) Rationale. The CSMAS recommendations deal with vital student-athlete health and safety issues. Currently no member from the committee directly reports to Division I, creating an information gap. Detailed Management Council discussions of the CSMAS recommendations are hindered due to lack of direct communication. This appointment could be accomplished by either expanding the committee composition or by allocating one of the two current at-large positions to Division I. Effective in the 2004-05 appointments.
(3) Budget Impact. $2,000 to add a new seat; none to substitute for an at-large position.
2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
Association-wide.
a. Softball Bats. The committee is concerned that the current standards for softball bats at the collegiate level may be inadequate and will begin reviewing the current standards to determine whether they are appropriate for and specific to the fast pitch softball game. In addition, the NCAA Sports Sciences Safety Subcommittee will review whether random testing of softball bats should be pursued.
b. Medical Coverage For Sports During Summer Months. The CSMAS encourages member institutions to initiate discussions among directors of athletics, coaches and medical personnel related to medical care coverage during summer months as soon as possible. The committee recommended the NCAA and its member institutions examine the increased sports medicine and athletics training
staff time, the financial impact of the summer conditioning model for football, and that member institutions may need to examine supplementary staff needs due to the additional time commitments of current employees. The committee recommended that each member institution reference the National Athletic Trainers? Association Appropriate Medical Coverage of Intercollegiate Athletics document to begin discussion of theses issues between the institution?s administration and the medical care providers of its student-athletes.
c. Helmets in Women's Lacrosse. In its June meeting, the Championships/Competition Cabinet directed the committee to work with the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association to determine whether mandating the use of helmets is a more appropriate long-term solution for protecting against head and face injuries in the sport of women's lacrosse. The committee will conduct a search of the sports medicine literature and, in consultation with United States Lacrosse, the NCAA championships committees and women's lacrosse committees, will proceed with a review of this issue. The committee will review the findings to date and outline appropriate next steps at its January 15-16, 2004, meeting.
Dave
Klossner, Assistant Director of Education Outreach