Since its founding, the NCAA has been dedicated to supporting member schools in their efforts to protect student-athletes from sport-related injury. Through playing and practice rules, educational resources, best practices, and research, the NCAA is actively working to support member schools in their efforts to safeguard student-athletes from injury and illness. At the forefront of this work is the NCAA Sport Science Institute, which works in collaboration with the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and other experts to provide guidance to member schools on issues impacting the mental and physical health and safety of student-athletes.

What data and research efforts does the NCAA advance to inform sport-related illness and injury prevention?

Through the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, as supported by the Sport Science Institute, the NCAA collaborates with member schools, national governing bodies and medical and research experts to provide member schools with data-driven guidance on sport-related illness and injury. Identifying the cause and frequency of injuries is helpful to preventing them. The NCAA participates in the following research partnerships that are advancing knowledge in the fields of concussion, catastrophic injuries and other sports injuries: 

• NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium (U.S. Department of Defense)
• NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention)
• Catastrophic injury reporting (National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research)

What resources are available to help student-athletes who have been injured?

Sports are not without risk. Despite precautions, injuries will sometimes happen. The NCAA sponsors a catastrophic injury insurance program for active member schools. The insurance covers student-athletes with medical expenses exceeding $90,000 if they were injured while participating in a covered intercollegiate activity. 

In addition, the NCAA will offer member schools post-eligibility insurance coverage for injuries sustained by student-athletes during participation in a qualifying intercollegiate sport on or after Aug. 1, 2024. The coverage will be for up to two years after student-athletes separate from school or voluntarily withdraw from athletics and will provide certain benefits in excess of any other valid and collectible insurance.