April 2007 Management Council agenda

REPORT OF THE

NCAA COMMITTEE ON COMPETITIVE SAFEGUARDS AND

MEDICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS

ACTION ITEMS.

1. Legislative Action Items.

Division I and II only.

a. 2008 Convention Legislation – Bylaw 18.4.1.5.2 Banned Drugs and Drug-Testing Methods and Bylaw 31.2.3.6 Methods for Drug Testing.

(1) Recommendation. To sponsor legislation to include “street drugs” in the year-round drug-testing program in all sports for all divisions as they test year round.

(2) Effective date. August 2008.

(3) Rationale. The purpose for the NCAA drug testing program is to deter cheating through performance enhancing drug use and to protect student-athlete health and safety by deterring drug use that is harmful to the health and safety of the user and other student-athletes. Currently, student-athletes are not tested for “street drugs” or stimulants (other than ephedrine) as part of the year-round testing program. This recommendation to include “street drugs” in the year-round drug testing program will provide a deterrent effect to drug use due to the potential for any student-athlete from any sport to be tested any time throughout the academic year. Further, the NCAA conducts a biennial survey of its membership to assess institutional levels of drug education and testing and to gather data as to member institutions’ desires regarding NCAA drug testing and its deterrent effect. The majority stated that the NCAA should include testing for marijuana in the year-round drug testing program. The penalty for the use of any NCAA banned substance is the loss of one year of eligibility and withholding from competition for a year from the date of the positive drug test. This recommendation is accompanied by the following recommendation to specify a distinct sanction tract for street drug positive tests.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. This recommendation would require an increase in funding for the added lab work for each year-round drug test of $50-$75, for approximately 11,000 year-round drug tests, totaling $825,000. Due to the demand on national office staffing, an additional .5 FTE administrator would be hired.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

b. 2008 Convention Legislation -- Bylaw 18.4.1.5 Ineligibility for Use of Banned Drugs.

(1) Recommendation. As a companion to the recommendation to test for street drugs in the year-round testing program, to amend NCAA Bylaw 18.4.1.5 through a noncontroversial legislative change, to specify a distinct sanctioning tract for student-athletes who test positive for the use of “street drugs” either through year-round or championship testing, as follows:

(a) First positive test – withholding from 50 percent of competition in all sports.

(b) Second positive test – withholding from all competition for a period of one year.

Reinstatement would require a negative NCAA drug test, documentation provided by the institution identifying the results of scheduled institutional drug tests during the withholding period, and documentation of an assessment and education or treatment plan conducted with the student-athlete.

(2) Effective date. August 2008.

(3) Rationale. The current drug-testing legislation provides for a one-year penalty for any positive drug test and withholding from competition for a year from the date of the drug test. Further, if a student-athlete tests positive for the use of a "street drug" after being restored to eligibility, he or she shall be charged with the loss of a minimum of one additional season of competition in all sports and also shall remain ineligible for regular-season and postseason competition at least through the next calendar year.

“Street drug” use poses a threat to student-athlete health and safety and undermines academic performance, and may undermine team performance and cohesion. It also presents a more complex issue, requiring both sanctions for deterrence, and assessment and education/treatment as the most appropriate intervention when use is identified. Research indicates that most student-athletes who test positive do not seek reinstatement. Because student-athletes who do not maintain their connection with the athletics department are difficult to engage in assessment and treatment, the committee believes the most appropriate response for the use of “street drugs,” which have the potential for addiction, is a combination of modified sanctions to deter use and assessment and intervention to define the problem and help the student-athlete. The NCAA is in the better position to apply a withholding penalty, while the institution has the ability to assess and intervene with education and/or treatment. Student-athletes who test positive for a “street drug” will have the opportunity to appeal, but the option to reduce the penalty will not be available within this tract of sanctions.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None. At the institutional level, the expectation of two or three additional positive drug tests annually would necessitate institutional follow-up. This follow-up would include an interim drug test and an assessment and intervention plan through either existing campus or community service, at minimal or no cost.

Association-wide.

c. NCAA Bylaw 18.4.1.5.1 Duration of Ineligibility.

(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 18.4.1.5.1, to specify that the period of ineligibility for a positive drug test will begin on the date of the collection of the drug-test specimen and extend a minimum of 365 days, and result in the loss of a minimum of one season of competition in all sports, providing for withholding from additional games at the end of the 365-day period if the student-athlete competed in games during the period from the collection of the specimen to the confirmation of the positive drug test result.

(2) Rationale. The current drug-testing legislation mandates a one-year penalty for any positive drug test and withholding from competition for a year beginning with the date of when the specimen is tested positive for a banned drug. However, when a student-athlete requests and is granted reinstatement, the start of the 365-day period of ineligibility is calculated by using the date of when the specimen is collected rather than when it is tested positive. This proposal will update the current legislation to reflect the current practice used by Student-Athlete Reinstatement when considering requests for reinstatement when a student-athlete tests positive for a banned drug.

(3) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(4) Student-Athlete Impact. None.