MEMORANDUM

September 5, 2001

In the past year, I have become increasingly aware of the desire of sports medicine organizations to provide input into the NCAA legislative and policy-development processes. There appears to be some frustration in trying to understand the appropriate mechanism to effect change. Currently, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports is the primary group evaluating health and safety issues within the Association. In the past, the committee has formally approached other medical organizations for support on issues such as reduction of spring football injuries and weight loss in wrestling. The entire sports medicine community benefited from these past collaborations, and I anticipate the need for more assistance in the future.

Any recommended rules change impacting health and safety should go through the competitive safeguards committee. When it does, it is sometimes beneficial to solicit additional support from sports medicine organizations as noted in the examples above. However, when legislation or policy is not perceived to have a direct impact on health and safety and is not reviewed by the committee, there is little chance for relevant health and safety input. Extending playing and practice opportunities is such an example. Therefore, it is important to understand the general NCAA communication network so your constituents' voices can be heard at the organization and institutional level.

The primary NCAA communication network includes institutional chief operating officers, athletics directors, senior woman administrators, compliance officers and faculty athletics representatives. These five individuals, along with coaches and student-athlete advisory committees, receive the bulk of the NCAA policy and legislation mailings and are in the mainstream for policy development, legislation review and committee appointments.

The following are recommendations to enhance medical professionals' ability to influence NCAA health and safety decision-making:

1. Identify and communicate with your school's five primary institutional contacts to become educated on the NCAA legislative process and to become a part of the institutional policy and legislative processes.

2. Develop institutional or conference sports medicine groups that are resources on health and safety issues, including NCAA legislation. These groups should become part of the institution or conference legislation and policy-development processes by scheduling meetings in conjunction with timetables for legislation review. These timetables differ by division; the five institutional representatives noted above can assist in understanding the process used by each institution and conference.

3. Create a mechanism within each medical association that allows development of an organizational position or statement within a short period of time (two to three weeks). This will be helpful in timely response to national issues (i.e., heat and asthma fatalities this fall) or to support or comment on NCAA policy or legislation as noted previously.

4. Develop a presence at conference or national meetings of athletics administrators, such as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of Collegiate Women's Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) and the NCAA Convention, to allow these individuals to hear your organization's health and safety concerns. Discussion of emergency care and coverage issues at each of the above meetings in 2001 is an example of this process.

5. Become familiar with the NCAA health and safety Web site at www.ncaa.org (under education/outreach).

6. Become familiar with relevant NCAA administration Web sites at www.ncaa.org (under administration and governance, select an appropriate division and then click on legislation) to understand divisional differences and the process and timetable to comment on pending legislation. These sites are in the process of revision and should provide even more information in the next three months. The five institutional representatives are a great Web site resource.

7. Identify the liaison to your institutional and conference student-athlete advisory committee(s) (SAAC) through the athletics department. All NCAA institutions and conferences are required to have an established SAAC. These student-athlete groups are becoming increasingly involved in legislation and policy decisions and are strong advocates of health and safety. These groups may be good vehicles to carry your individual or organizational message; they also could benefit from your expertise in their decision-making.

8. Identify your CHAMPS/Lifeskills coordinator through the athletics department. This program is required on all Division I campuses and is growing in Divisions II and III. You can be a valuable resource in educating student-athletes on health and safety issues contained in this curriculum.

Health and safety is the cornerstone upon which the NCAA was founded. As the oversight group for this issue, the competitive safeguards committee encourages and welcomes your increased involvement. The Association and its student-athletes will benefit from your participation and awareness. The above recommendations should provide a starting point for national sports medicine organizations and individual or conference medical personnel. Any specific ideas or feedback are welcomed and should be forwarded to the committee staff liaisons, Randy Dick or Mary Wilfert at 317/917-6222.

RD:tmh

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