Since 1984, the NCAA has regularly surveyed member institutions to obtain information about their individual drug-education and drug-testing programs, as well as their participation in and support of NCAA programs.

The latest survey in October 2001 earned an overall response rate of 54 percent, with a high of 77 percent in Division I-A and low of 46 percent in Division III.

Overall, 66 percent of respondents have some type of drug/alcohol-education program for student-athletes, with a high of 89 percent in Division I-A and low of 45 percent in Division III. However, programs for coaches and staff are much less common, with only 26 percent of respondents reporting the availability of such programs. This is an area that may need increased focus. Coaches and other athletics department staff, if educated, often are in key positions to establish early identification and intervention with student-athletes who are experiencing problems with alcohol and other drugs.

Institutional drug testing

Forty-nine percent of all responding institutions report having a drug-testing program, with a high of 93 percent at Division I-A and low of 8 percent in Division III.

Nearly 100 percent of the institutions use urine samples. Ninety percent of institutions participating in testing randomly select student-athletes for testing. Sixty-eight percent of those who test also do so with reasonable suspicion, and 58 percent with probable cause. The drugs most frequently tested for include marijuana (99 percent), cocaine (95 percent), amphetamines (92 percent), anabolic agents (52 percent), Ecstasy (47 percent) and ephedrine (45 percent).

Notifications

Institutions vary in how they handle positive drug-test results. As expected, the director of athletics and coach almost always (greater than 90 percent) were notified about positives. However, the parents were only notified 42 percent of the time for first positives, 63 percent of the time for second positives and 69 percent of the time for third positives. Surprisingly, the chief executive officer of the university frequently was not notified -- 10 percent on first positives, 15 percent on second positives and 28 percent on third positives. Also, the team doctor often was not involved -- 48 percent on first positives, 50 percent on second positives and 56 percent on third positives.

After a first positive, 81 percent of institutions referred student-athletes for drug counseling, 34 percent invoked a suspension, and 5 percent removed the student-athlete from the team. After a second positive, 81 percent of institutions referred the student-athlete for drug counseling, 67 percent suspended the student-athlete and 23 percent removed the student-athlete from the team. After a third positive, 37 percent suspended the student-athlete and 79 percent removed him or her from the team.

NCAA drug testing

Currently, the NCAA year-round testing program does not test for street drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. However, 86 percent of respondents supported adding marijuana testing to the NCAA year-round program.

Also, 88 percent felt that the current NCAA policy of a one-year suspension for all banned substances is fair and only 11 percent felt it was unfair. When asked whether student-athletes who test positive for street drugs such as marijuana should receive a lesser sanction than those who test positive for performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids, 22 percent said they should receive a lesser sanction, 72 percent favored the same sanction and 6 percent favored a greater sanction.

Most member institutions in all three NCAA divisions have significant restrictions relating to the advertising and sales of alcoholic beverages at athletics events. Eighty-seven percent do not allow the sale of alcoholic beverages, 83 percent do not allow alcoholic beverages to be advertised in signage and 79 percent do not allow alcohol ads in game programs.

Summary

The majority of all Divisions I and II institutions operate drug-testing programs (93 percent in Division
I-A, 61 percent in Division I-AA, 78 percent in Division I-AAA and 57 percent in Division II), while only 8 percent of Division III institutions do so. Cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines and anabolic agents are the most common tests, and urine samples are used by almost all institutions.

First positive tests trigger suspensions at 34 percent of institutions. Second positive tests trigger suspension at 67 percent and removal from team at 23 percent of institutions. Third positive tests trigger suspensions at 37 percent and removal from team at 79 percent of institutions.

There appears to be widespread support in athletics departments for the current NCAA drug-testing program penalty structure, which penalizes student-athletes who test positive for either street drugs or performance enhancers with a one-year loss of eligibility and playing time.

For a complete copy of the 2001 NCAA Drug Education/Testing Survey, including a breakdown of all results by NCAA division, contact Mary Wilfert at mwilfert@ncaa.org.

Arnold F. Mazur is the staff physician at Boston College Health Services and a member of the drug-education and drug-testing subcommittee of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.

Drug-education resource online

The NCAA has created an interactive resource for student-athletes to access accurate, objective information about alcohol and other drugs and how those substances can affect performance on and off the field. "Choices in Sports" can be found at http://www.drugfreesport.com/