Substance misuse prevention, cardiac care discussed
The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports this week supported the ongoing work of the NCAA Prevention and Harm Reduction Advisory Group and approved the charter for the NCAA Cardiac Advisory Group.
Prevention and Harm Reduction Advisory Group
The committee discussed the ongoing work of the Prevention and Harm Reduction Advisory Group to develop recommendations to inform updates to the NCAA Substance Misuse Prevention Tool Kit.
The advisory group met in July to discuss a preliminary prevention and harm reduction framework that could apply across substance-related and addictive behaviors (e.g., alcohol use, cannabis use, gambling and sports betting), noting that such a unified framework does not currently exist within collegiate athletics.
Additionally, committee members discussed the advisory group’s preliminary recommendations, including foundational principles and actionable strategies for schools to establish and implement a plan for preventing and reducing harms from substance-related and addictive behaviors.
The advisory group will complete its consensus-building process this fall.
Cardiac Advisory Group
The committee approved the charter for its Cardiac Advisory Group, which it directed to review and provide recommendations to update the NCAA Cardiac Care Best Practices.
The advisory group will include membership representatives (including student-athletes), subject matter experts and representatives from relevant external organizations (e.g., American Heart Association, Sports Cardiology Society).
The advisory group will review current NCAA guidance and existing and emerging scientific literature and clinical data on cardiovascular care relevant to collegiate student-athletes. This will include topics like cardiovascular risk, preparticipation evaluations and cardiac screening, nutritional and dietary supplement use and parameters for medical clearance.
The advisory group is expected to hold its first meeting in spring/summer 2027.
NCAA-FBI collaboration
Committee members also discussed the announcement of the NCAA assisting the FBI in efforts to protect student-athletes from the rise of cyber-enabled crimes, such as “sextortion” and other targeted attacks.
