Jun 7, 2010 8:36:08 AM

Results from the most recent reported round of NCAA drug testing demonstrate an emerging  increase in the number of positives for steroid use, also noted in the previous year, though the total remains low compared with the number of student-athletes tested.

Testing in the year-round program from 2008-09 revealed that 72 student-athletes tested positive for anabolic agents (steroids,) compared with 57 in 2007-08 and 27 in 2006-07. Forty-seven of the 72 positive tests have been confirmed, while 25 positives were considered "inconclusive" and were not sanctioned. 

While the 72 positives in the most recent cohort are the highest since 2002, it represents just 0.6 percent of the total testing population (11,088 student-athletes).

NCAA year-round testing includes anabolic steroids, diuretics and urine manipulators (masking agents), human chorionic gonadotropin in males, and ephedrine. All Division I football and baseball program are tested, as are all Division II football programs. All other sports in Divisions I and II are tested in varying degrees, using data from research (including the NCAA drug-use survey) to test more in sports at higher risk of performance-enhancing drug use. Division III has completed a two-year pilot program to determine if the division will institute year-round drug testing.

"It is notable that the number of positive tests for anabolic steroids had decreased dramatically, only to rise again in the last two reported years," said the NCAA's Mary Wilfert, associate director of health and safety.

Wilfert said the recent spike may be attributed to an aggressive position taken by some in the supplement industry to include anabolic agents in supplement products in a manner that "thwarts the spirit" of the 2005 Anabolic Steroid Control Act.

"Because it takes months or more for the Food and Drug Administration to identify a new steroid ingredient and get it listed on the controlled list, this has resulted in legal supplement products being sold that contain anabolic agents, and both professional athletes and collegiate athletes have tested positive for using these products," Wilfert said.

The NCAA warns student-athlete to avoid using unregulated supplements since some that are obtained legally have been shown to contain NCAA-banned ingredients or be contaminated with them.

Positive tests for steroid use in postseason testing were less noticeable. Only six student-athletes tested positive in 2008-09, compared with seven the previous year and three in 2006-07.

NCAA championship drug testing involves testing for all classes of NCAA-banned drugs, including anabolic steroids, stimulants, peptide hormones (such as erythropoietin and human chorionic gonadotropin), diuretics and urine manipulators, beta blockers, beta-2 agonists and street drugs (marijuana and heroin). All championships are guaranteed to be tested at least once every five years, and some are tested annually.

A student-athlete who tests positive for an NCAA-banned substance loses a year of eligibility and is withheld from competing in all sports for a year. Historically, the overwhelming majority of student-athletes who lose eligibility for a positive drug test do not return to their sport, and many do not graduate.

The postseason testing also showed a sustained number of positives for street drugs. A total of 28 student-athletes tested positive in 2008-09, compared with 26 in 2007-08 and 21 in 2006-07. The year-round program does not routinely pick up street drugs and stimulants, since those are included only in tests conducted on student-athletes who are picked up during year-round testing because they have tested positive in the past.

The results for the 2008-09 postseason and year-round programs are available at www.ncaa.org/drugtesting.  The results are collected by The National Center for Drug Free Sport, the NCAA third-party administrator, reviewed by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, and approved for publication by the NCAA Executive Committee.

The NCAA conducts drug testing as a part of a comprehensive approach to deter the use of banned substances, to protect and promote student-athlete health and safety, and to honor the integrity and spirit of the game. In addition to NCAA drug testing, member institutions and conferences also may conduct drug testing independent of NCAA oversight.