Catastrophic Injury and Illness

Effective August 1, 2014, NCAA Association-wide legislation requires schools to report annually all student-athlete fatalities and catastrophic injuries regardless of whether such fatality/injury is sport-related. Effective August 1, 2024, Division I legislation requires schools to complete a post-incident review of circumstances surrounding athletically related catastrophic fatalities, near fatalities and catastrophic injuries. 

Schools are encouraged to report incidents as soon as enough information is available to provide an accurate report.  At minimum, schools are required to report on an annual basis. 

Schools should report through the online portal developed to facilitate confidential and secure reporting of catastrophic events. Once submitted, the data is managed by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (NCCSIR)with which the NCAA has partnered with to assist with data collection.  To report a catastrophic event by phone, call the NCCSIR at 919-843-8357.

Responsibility for reporting a catastrophic injury should belong to an individual, or team of individuals, who is most likely to be aware of a catastrophic event and has the necessary knowledge and authority to submit the report on behalf of the school. In most cases, this individual holds the position of athletics health care administrator, athletic trainer, team physician, compliance administrator, director of athletics or risk manager; however, schools have the flexibility to designate the most appropriate individual on their campus based on their local policies and procedures. The reporting school is responsible for obtaining all consents and releases necessary or required to submit this information.

The legislation requires member schools to submit data detailing student-athlete: (1) fatalities (2) near fatalities; and (3) catastrophic injuries. Examples may include:

• All deaths of an NCAA student-athlete from any cause. 
• Near-fatalities and catastrophic injuries to the following body part(s):
  • Head.
  • Neck.
  • Spine.
  • Heart (cardiac).
  • Lungs (pulmonary).
  • Eyes.
• Near-fatalities and catastrophic injuries involving the following conditions:
  • Heat injuries
  • Sickle cell trait.
  • Cardiac arrest.

Examples may include, but are not limited to:

• Severe injury to brain or spinal cord.
• Skull or spine fracture.
• Commotio cordis.
• Exertional heat stroke.
• Exertional sickling event (even if managed on campus).
• Sudden cardiac arrest (e.g., atrial flutter).
• Rhabdomyolysis with hospitalization or surgery.
• Internal organ injury.
• Life-threatening severe bleeding.
• Lightning injury.

When in doubt, report. The reporting form has an “Other” option available. Questions can also be directed to NCCSIR or the NCAA Sport Science Institute. 

Per NCAA legislation, the reporting obligation applies to ALL catastrophic events involving a student-athlete, regardless of whether such fatality/injury is sport related.

Yes. Schools are required to report fatalities or catastrophic injuries occurring during any academic year in which astudent-athlete is enrolled even if they have exhausted their eligibility.

After the report is submitted, schools will have the option to save a copy of their report. Schools may also contact the NCCSIR directly at nccsir@unc.edu to obtain a copy of their report.

All procedures for gathering information have been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (IRB #15-1394) and by the NCAA Research Review Board. Data is stored on a secure portal hosted by Arivium. Any physical copies of data will be stored in locked file cabinets in a secure office at the NCCSIR and analysis files are stored on password protected servers located on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For more information about security or IRB approvals, please contact the NCCSIR at nccsir@unc.edu.