The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports has approved the charter for its Prevention and Harm Reduction Advisory Group.
The committee, which met virtually last week, charged its new advisory group with developing evidence- and consensus-based recommendations on prevention and harm- reduction strategies for substance-related and addictive behaviors in collegiate athletics.
 The advisory group will explore how prevention and harm-reduction science may apply to substance use, gambling and sports betting, as well as related topics, such as hazing. These recommendations will inform updates to the NCAA Substance Misuse Prevention Tool Kit.
The Prevention and Harm Reduction Advisory Group will be made up of representatives from the membership, including student-athletes, as well as experts from the medical, scientific, sports medicine and sports governance communities. The advisory group is expected to hold its first meeting in April, with the goal of having updated guidance available for the 2027-28 academic year.
The updated guidance could rise to Association-wide policy and could require attestation as part of the Division I Core Guarantees to enhance student-athlete benefits and services, expand scholarship protections and enhance expectations of school officials.
Transfers
CSMAS discussed the increasing burden on sports medicine staffs related to transfer student-athletes and the sharing of medical information.
CSMAS will continue to discuss avenues that may reduce those burdens, including creating education for transfer student-athletes and updating the student-athlete statement regarding the consent to share private information, taking into account the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Athletic training workforce
Committee members received an update on work to create actionable items to support the recruitment and retention of athletic trainers. Specifically, following the July meeting of athletic training stakeholders, four actionable items were identified:
- Developing fact sheets that define applicable issues, highlight the work of athletic trainers and provide strategies for improving culture.
- Providing mentoring opportunities to enhance athletic trainers' administrative skills.
- Creating a white paper outlining various health care delivery models.
- Developing strategies for team physician advocacy of athletic trainers.Â
These new resources should be available for the 2026-27 academic year.
Existing resources to support athletic trainers and educate campus stakeholders about the ongoing issues impacting the collegiate athletic training workforce can be found here:
