Drug-Testing Appeals Process

Updated July 2025

If requested to do so by a student-athlete, a school is required to submit an appeal on behalf of the student-athlete who tested positive for a banned substance or who violated an NCAA drug-testing protocol. The procedures for an appeal are contained in Section 8.0 of the NCAA Drug-Testing Manual Protocol. The following information is provided to assist NCAA member schools and student-athletes who may be considering or preparing for an appeal of an NCAA positive drug-test.

Grounds for Appeal. The NCAA does not restrict the grounds for an appeal, but a school bringing an appeal must comply with the requirements set forth in Section 8.0 of the NCAA Drug-Testing Manual Protocol. Appeal considerations are outlined below:
1. Procedural challenge: Either the school or student-athlete may challenge any procedure relating to the collection or testing of the subject samples. If the school or student-athlete proves it is more likely than not that any substantiated problem with the collection or testing procedures materially affects a sample's integrity, the drug-test appeal panel may find that no doping violation has occurred.
2. Knowledge challenge: The student-athlete is responsible for all substances ingested. However:
  1. If the school or the student-athlete demonstrates that the student-athlete was not aware they had been administered (defined as placed into the student-athlete’s system directly or through food or drink) a substance by another person that later is found to have contained a banned ingredient, then the drug-test appeal panel may determine that no doping violation has occurred. In this situation, the student-athlete must provide proof that they both did not know and could not reasonably have known or suspected (even with the exercise of utmost caution) that they had been administered by a third party a substance that is later found to have contained a banned ingredient; or
  2. If the school or the student-athlete demonstrates that the student-athlete asked specific and reasonable questions about a particular substance, medication or product of the appropriate athletics staff member and the athletics staff member erroneously assured the inquiring student-athlete that the substance does not list a banned ingredient (but it did), then the drug-test appeal panel may determine that no violation has occurred. In this case where the substance, medication, or product reviewed and approved for use by the school does list a banned substance, this may result in an institutional violation.
  3. If the school or the student-athlete demonstrates that the student-athlete had a prescription for a banned substance or disclosed the use of the banned substance with the appropriate athletics staff member, and the athletics staff member erroneously assured the inquiring student-athlete that the substance did not need a medical exception pre-approval or they did not submit a medical exception pre-approval when the student-athlete disclosed use of a prescribed banned substance, then the drug-test appeal panel may determine that no doping violation has occurred. In this situation, the student-athlete must provide proof of the prescription for the banned substance or proof that they shared with the school the use of the banned substance (e.g., pre-participation physical forms). This may result in formal notification to the school’s president/chancellor of the school’s failure to comply with NCAA drug-testing policy.
Reduction of penalty based on mitigating factors:
1. The following will not be considered mitigating factors in a drug-test appeal:
  1. The type or amount of banned substance detected through the drug test;
  2. Evidence of the student-athlete’s good character;
  3. The degree of remorse demonstrated by the student-athlete; family hardship, or history of family dysfunction; or
  4. The degree to which the banned substance may or may not affect athletic performance.
2. The drug-test appeal panel may reduce the current legislative sanction to an immediate suspension from competition in all sports and withholding from competition for the equivalent of the next 50% of each sport’s regular season schedule, when circumstances indicate a reduction is warranted. For example:
  1. Where it is shown that the school's drug-education program was inadequate and such shortcomings influenced the student-athlete’s judgment regarding the propriety of taking a specific product (a reduction of penalty normally will not be available in the case of admitted illicit drug use); or
  2. A student-athlete’s ability to discern they were using a banned substance was due to circumstances beyond the student-athlete’s control.
3. As it relates to only medical exception pre-approvals, the drug-test appeal panel may reduce the current legislative sanction to an immediate suspension from competition in all sports and withholding from competition for the equivalent of the next 25% of each sport’s regular season schedule, when circumstances indicate such a reduction is warranted. For example:
  1. Where it is shown that improper submission occurred for use of a banned substance requiring a medical exception pre-approval where the student-athlete had a prescription that covered the date of the NCAA drug test for use of the banned substance; and
  2. The student-athlete failed to notify the appropriate athletics staff of their use of the prescribed banned substance.
Appeal Deadlines. The request for an appeal shall be submitted to the NCAA-designated drug-testing agency, Drug Free Sport International, by the school within two business days of the confirmation of the positive B result. Schools must submit to Drug Free Sport International all the required appeal documentation (see checklist) within 45 days of their request to appeal.
Written Review. All appeals will start with a written review by at least three members from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Drug-Test Appeal Subcommittee.
1. Subcommittee Review. A panel of the Drug-Test Appeal Subcommittee members will review the school’s submitted documentation (see checklist) and consider legislation, committee guidelines, policies and procedures, case precedent, asserted mitigation, and other relevant information to render a final decision or to elevate the review to an oral hearing.
2. Unanimity. In order to render a final decision from review of written materials, the drug-test appeal panel’s vote must be unanimous.
3. Communication of Final Decision. NCAA staff will contact the director of athletics or their designee to report the appeal panel's decision. It is the school's responsibility to inform the student-athlete of the final outcome as soon as possible.
4. Elevation to Oral Hearing. If the drug-test appeal panel’s vote for a final decision is not unanimous, or if the panel requests to elevate the review to an oral hearing, Drug Free Sport International staff will communicate with the appropriate school representative and initiate next steps required to schedule an oral hearing teleconference.
Oral Hearing. Should the members of the drug-test appeal panel elevate the review to an oral hearing, it will be conducted by teleconference arranged by Drug Free Sport International for the NCAA.
1. NCAA Participation. NCAA staff, NCAA-designated drug-testing consultants, and NCAA legal counsel are normally present during the telephone conference but do not participate in voting.
2. Anonymity of Review. All personal and school-identifying information will be redacted from submitted materials. Additionally, during the teleconference, attendees should refer to themselves only by title and should not mention the school or the student-athlete’s name.
3. Required Attendees. The student-athlete and director of athletics must attend the teleconference. The director of athletics may designate another staff member to participate in their absence. Further, based on facts of the appeal or claims made by the school, the drug-test appeal panel members may require additional attendees.
4. Permitted Attendees. In addition to the required attendance of the student-athlete and director of athletics (or their designee), two additional staff members (e.g., head athletic trainer, director of compliance, etc.), and student-athlete’s legal counsel or representative may attend the hearing.
5. Additional Attendees. The school may submit a request to allow additional individuals to attend the oral hearing. In its request, the school must indicate the rationale for each individual’s attendance. The drug-test appeal panel members retain ultimate authority on which individuals are required to attend, permitted to attend, and/or permitted to speak.
6. Hearing Protocol.
  1. Chair Remarks. The chair of the drug-test appeal panel (or their designee) will open the appeal confirming the order of speakers and related time limitations and any additional procedural information.
  2. School’s Opening Statement. Following the chair’s (or their designee’s) opening remarks, the school will be provided up to five minutes to make an introductory statement. Additional time may be provided, subject to the chair.
  3. Student-athlete Statement. Next, the student-athlete and/or their representative will be provided up to 10 minutes to make a statement. Additional time may be provided, subject to the chair.
  4. Additional Speakers. As required or approved by the drug-test appeal panel chair, additional speakers will be provided up to five minutes to speak. Additional time may be provided, subject to the chair.
  5. Question and Answer Period. At the conclusion of the school’s presentation (including student-athlete and any additional speakers’ statements), members of the appeal panel may ask any attendee questions. Once the appeal panel’s question-and-answer has concluded and with approval from the appeal panel’s chair, school representatives or the student-athlete may ask questions germane to the discussion.
  6. Closing Statements. The student-athlete and the school will each be provided five additional minutes to make a closing statement.
  7. Deliberation. Following the question-and-answer period, the chair will ask the student-athlete, school representatives, drug-testing consultants, and all other permitted participants to leave the teleconference. At that time the panel will deliberate and render a decision.
  8. Communication of Final Decision. NCAA staff will contact the director of athletics or their designee to report the appeal panel's decision. It is the school's responsibility to inform the student-athlete of the final outcome as soon as possible.
Negative Exit Test. In the event of an analytical positive test, when the appeal is granted, the student-athlete must test negative for all banned drug classes on an NCAA-administered drug test prior to returning to competition. In the event the panel denies the appeal and imposes a sanction, the provisions of NCAA legislation will apply.
Conflict of Interest. If a member of the drug-test appeal panel is employed by a member school belonging to the same athletics conference of the appealing school, or where it is determined, have any other affiliation that may result in a conflict of interest, the panel member shall promptly recuse themself and will not be permitted to participate in the appeal hearing.

If you have questions about the NCAA drug-testing appeals process, please contact ssi@ncaa.org.

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