The incidence of heat illness in Division II football fell sharply after legislation was implemented in August 2003 to help football student-athletes acclimate more effectively to high temperatures in preseason workouts.

Data from the NCAA Injury Surveillance System (ISS) shows that the rate of preseason heat illness among Division II football players fell by about half from the 2001 and 2002 preseasons to 2003.

David Klossner, NCAA assistant director of education outreach, said that it is too early to correlate the improved figures with the August 2003 legislation but that the trend is encouraging.

"These data are only for one year and we want three years of information before we reach any definite conclusions," Klossner said. "We will continue to monitor these data, but what we've seen so far is encouraging."

The 2003 legislation was based on the premise that football players are more at risk to heat illness in late summer than other student-athletes because of the large amount of protective equipment the sport requires.

To help football players gradually adjust to the heat, Division II required preseason football practice to begin with a five-day acclimatization period. During that time, student-athletes may not engage in more than one on-field practice per day. That practice may not last more than three hours.

Only helmets may be worn during the first two days of the acclimatization period, with helmets and shoulder pads permissible over the next two days. On the last day of the five-day period, practice in full pads is permissible.

After the acclimatization period, institutions may not conduct multiple on-field practices on consecutive days.

The ISS data showed a smaller decline in preseason heat illness in Division I football but an increase in Division III. Klossner said that it is too early to know why the outcomes would vary among the three divisions, although one explanation could be that the Division II model was implemented first, which provided more opportunity to educate those responsible for conducting practices.

-- David Pickle