The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports works closely with the division football committees to construct a sound model of sports-medicine practices that protect the welfare of football student-athletes. The result of this joint effort is the development of guidelines to minimize the risk of catastrophic injury to football players and to ensure that NCAA institutions are better prepared to effectively respond in the event an injury or illness does occur during football competition, practice or training.

Other sports programs can equally benefit from those guidelines.

A full set of established health and safety initiatives and updated guidelines have been included in the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook to assist member institutions in developing health and safety policies for their respective programs. Every school's sports medicine personnel should review those guidelines to enhance the quality of care provided to their student-athletes.

Guidelines for players and coaches during a serious on-field player injury are:

Guidelines for concussion

Symptoms of concussion include:

A student-athlete rendered unconscious for any period of time should not be permitted to return to the practice or game in which the head injury occurred. In addition, no student-athlete should be allowed to return to athletics activity while symptomatic.

Guidelines for first aid for heat illness or heat exhaustion also should be reviewed. The symptons include profound weakness, exhaustion, dizziness, muscle cramps and nausea. For first aid, have the victim rest in a cool, shaded environment, and fluids should be given orally. The player should not return to practice or competition for the remainder of that day, and he or she should be evaluated by a physician to determine the need for additional medical care

The symptoms for heatstroke include high body temperature, disorientation/confusion, and possibly seizure or coma. For first aid, encourage immediate cooling of the body using ice, immersion in cold water, or wetting the body and fanning vigorously; or hospitalization and careful monitoring.

In a continuing effort to assess safety hazards and identify practices that reduce individual risk and institutional liability, the competitive safeguards committee monitors athletics-related injuries and illnesses and provides direction to the membership.

This article represents selections of relevant NCAA health and safety guidelines. A more comprehensive review of sports-medicine information can be found on NCAA Online at www.ncaa.org/sports_sciences.

Development of sound sports-medicine practices consistent with these guidelines demonstrates to student-athletes that protection of their welfare, health and safety are top priorities.

Matt Mitten is the associate dean for academic affairs, professor of law and director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School. He also is the chair of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.