APRIL 2004 DIVISION III MANAGEMENT COUNCIL, SUPPLEMENT NO. 1

REPORT OF THE

NCAA COMMITTEE ON COMPETITIVE SAFEGUARDS AND

MEDICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS

The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) submits this report from its January 15-16, 2004, in-person meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1. ACTION ITEMS.

Association-wide.

a. Drug Test Sanctions.

(1) Recommendation. To amend Bylaw 18.4.1.5.1 (Duration of Ineligibility) to allow the Drug-Education and Drug-Testing (DEDT) Subcommittee of the CSMAS to reduce a drug-testing penalty during a drug-test appeal from one year to the next 50 percent of a season of competition in all sports, effective August 1, 2005.

(2) Rationale. The current drug-testing legislation provides for a one year penalty for any positive drug test, unless the DEDT subcommittee accepts an appeal by the student-athlete because of mitigating circumstances. Currently, the committee has no authority to reduce the sanction, only to uphold the one year penalty or fully negate the positive test and sanction. Appeals are considered on a case-by-case basis.

This amendment would enable the subcommittee to consider a reduced penalty in the face of mitigating circumstances. The outcome of an appeal would then be the full one year penalty, a 50 percent penalty or no penalty. This new rule would apply only to drug tests conducted on or after the effective date.

This amendment would further align the NCAA with national and international doping control, which identifies a doping offense if any presence of a banned substance is found in a drug-test sample, but allows for reduced penalties in the face of mitigating circumstances. This recommendation is consistent with other sanctions involving NCAA student-athletes. It is also consistent with the NCAA position to maintain strong enforcement of NCAA values of integrity and fair play, while also providing for a responsive, case-by-case approach to student-athletes in unique circumstances. The subcommittee will continue to have current options as outlined in the Bylaw.

3 Budget Impact. None.

b. Acceptance of National or International Drug-Testing Suspensions.

(1) Recommendation. To amend Bylaw 31.2.3.1.2 (Positive Drug Test – Non-NCAA Athletics Organization) to state that a student-athlete under a drug-testing suspension from a national or international sports governing body that has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code shall not participate in NCAA intercollegiate competitions, effective August 1, 2005.

(2) Rationale. Current legislation allows a student-athlete, while under an international doping suspension, to compete within the NCAA after testing negative with the NCAA. This current practice has contributed to a perception that the NCAA harbors “dirty athletes,” and allows coaches to recruit and permit these athletes to compete during an active positive drug-test suspension.

With this recommendation, the NCAA will honor individual athlete doping violations and sanctions imposed by other athletics governing bodies that have adopted and fully implemented the WADA Code, the drug-testing policies written and enforced by the International Olympic Committee. These doping violations are required to be reported on the NCAA Student-Athlete Statement, and notice of a WADA doping suspension is a matter of public record. NCAA student-athletes would not be permitted to compete in any intercollegiate sports at an NCAA institution or participate in any NCAA championship competition during the time period that a suspension imposed by another athletics governing body is in effect. An exception to this rule would exist if a student-athlete tests positive through another athletics governing body for a substance for which the NCAA provides a medical exception review. In this case, the student-athlete may request a review of this violation by the medical panel of the CSMAS to receive a waiver to participate in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. An athlete may commence or return to NCAA competition upon demonstration of a lifting of the national or international suspension.

The 2003 Drug-Education and Testing Survey of the NCAA membership demonstrated that a majority of the membership (53 percent) was in favor of changing NCAA policy according to this recommendation.

(3) Budget Impact. None.

Division I only.

c. Division I Representation on Association-wide Committees.

(1) Recommendation. To adopt non-controversial legislation to amend the current at-large position criteria to require a Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet member fill one of the at large positions on the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. [Note: The Olympic Sports Liaison Committee is submitting a similar request to amend legislation to require a Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet member fill one of the Division I positions on the OSLC.]

(2) Rationale. Currently, the CSMAS and the OSLC provide their committee reports to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet, but neither have a representative from the Cabinet assigned to their respective committee. Both of these Association-wide (A-W) committees address complex student-athlete welfare issues that impact all sports across all three NCAA divisions. Both committees cover a breadth of issues that affect all sports and all three Divisions. Designating representatives from the Cabinet to sit on each of these committees will serve the interests of the Cabinet in that its members will include those educated on the issues addressed by the CSMAS and the OSLC. The Cabinet members assigned to these committees will be in a position to provide the Cabinet’s intent and context to the discussions within the A-W committee and be able to raise health and safety or Olympic sports issues within the Cabinet discussions, even outside of reports from these committees.

Further, cabinet representation on the CSMAS and the OSLC will enable those committees to better track on issues being discussed at the cabinet level during committee meetings and thus provide for informed input and decision making at the committee level on important issues. In addition, the Divisions II and III Management Councils representatives assigned to these A-W committees note that recommendations that have implications Association-wide require input and attention from all three divisional governing bodies. With no direct representation from Division I on these A-W committees, issues do not receive a complete review by all three divisions. This disconnect in the process may result in the Division I Cabinet members reviewing and voting without the benefit of the Division II or Division III views as expressed by these representatives in the A-W committee meetings.

(3) Budget Impact. None. This position may be filled through attrition, filling an existing at-large seat on the CSMAS, and an existing Division I seat on the OSLC.

Division II only

d. Expansion of NCAA Division II Year-Round Testing.

(1) Recommendation. To include drug testing in all sports in the year-round drug-testing program in Division II, effective August 1, 2004.

(2) Rationale. Drug testing is used as a deterrent to the use of performance enhancing and potentially dangerous substances. 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. Currently the NCAA tests only football in Division II in the year-round program. A plan that continues to test at substantial levels in football, and randomly identifies additional players in a rotational selection of all other sports, 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.

There are approximately 260 Division II members. The NCAA visited 149 (57 percent) of these campuses in 2002-2003 for drug testing. Under the current testing plan, all Division II schools that sponsor football are visited by the NCAA for drug testing at least once each academic year. The most economical way to increase sports participation in Division II year-round testing and maintain the football-testing annual guarantee (i.e., every football program tested at least once every year) is to reduce the number of football tests. These drug tests could be reallocated to allow for testing one additional sport chosen based on a formula developed by the NCAA (e.g., pool of high-risk sports for steroids and ephedrine). However, there are approximately 111 Division II schools that are not being tested now because they do not sponsor football. Additional funds for drug testing one sport at these schools are needed.

The Management Council initially reviewed an earlier plan and referred it back to the CSMAS to provide a plan that could operate effectively within the budget defined for drug-testing in Division II. The CSMAS submits the following plan, developed by The National Center for Drug Free Sport, the NCAA drug-testing administrator:

Proposed Expanded Year-Round Drug Testing Program for Division II

(a) Maintain football-testing guarantee in Division II football.

(b) Reduce football tests from 14 per site to 12 per site.

(c) Reallocate two football tests, add two new tests and use these to test four student-athletes in one additional high-risk sport. [Note: This formula was used in the Division II pilot testing program in football in 2002 and 2003.]

(d) Visit 66 (about 60 percent) of the non-football campuses at least once each year and test four athletes from one high-risk sport.

(3) Budget Impact. Total budget for 2004-05 is $99,630 (149 schools times 1.08 (eight percent repeat) times two athletes times $125 is $40,230 and 66 additional testing sites times four athletes times $225 is $59,400).

2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

Association-wide.

a. Softball. The committee continued to support the intent of the softball bat research as proposed by the NCAA Softball Rules Committee. It noted that a system has been developed for baseball-bat testing and the distances in softball are much shorter for the pitcher and in-field players. In addition, the committee agreed to recommend exploring options for random testing of bats at NCAA softball championships to ensure adherence to specifications for bats outlined in NCAA softball rules. The committee suggested that the current baseball bat testing model at championships may provide a good outline.

b. Women’s Lacrosse. The committee recommended supporting the US Lacrosse plan to track injuries as the eyewear mandate is implemented and as US Lacrosse reviews whether additional head-protection equipment is indicated. The Sport Sciences Safety Subcommittee will continue to work with the women’s lacrosse national governing body in their efforts to reduce the risk of injuries in the sport through continued NCAA injury surveillance.

c. Medical Disqualification at Championships. The committee reviewed the 2003 Championship Handbook general information section, “Procedure to Medically Disqualify a Student-Athlete during an NCAA Championship.” The committee recommended adding the following language to the next edition: “In the absence of a team physician, the NCAA tournament physician, as designated by the host school, has the unchallengeable authority to examine the student-athlete and make a decision of continued participation or medical disqualification. If, in the opinion of the tournament physician, continued participation by the injured student-athlete may expose others to a significantly enhanced risk of harm, or life threatening risk to himself or herself, the tournament physician has the final decision regarding participation by the student-athlete.” NCAA general counsel will provide a review of medical responsibility of the sponsor of the championship.

d. Drug Testing at Bowling Championships. The committee reviewed and recommended a drug-testing plan for bowling championships presented by The National Center for Drug Free Sport.

e. Banned Drug List. The committee recommended listing tetrahydrogestrinone, trenbolone and gestrinone as named steroids on the list of NCAA banned substances.

f. Emerging Sports. The committee will contact the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) regarding adding language to the emerging sport criteria. The additional criteria would require the requesting body to include information about health and safety considerations in order to educate the membership. In addition, the committee recommended working with NCAA governance to send a letter to the membership to emphasize the NCAA health and safety principle, which requires institutional responsibility to provide medical coverage of all intercollegiate student-athletes, including those participating in emerging sports. The committee is urging that such sports be provided health care and medical coverage consistent with that provided for other sports, and also recommended that institutions review medical-care policies for emerging-sports teams traveling to compete in club sponsored events.

Division II only.

g. Drug Testing at the Division II Swimming and Diving Championships. The committee approved the request to test student-athletes who compete in multiple events at the end of each day at the Division II Swimming and Diving championships in instead of testing them after each event won.