Jan 13, 2010 11:35:16 PM

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Wednesday reviewed and supported the concept of concussion-management proposals made by the Association's health and safety committee.

The playing rules panel, which generally is charged with assessing proposed changes from the Association's playing rules committees, voted to incorporate educational materials in each sport. Those would be elements such as rules documents, video productions and other such products.

PROP chair Don Tencher, athletics director at Rhode Island College, said that the panel strongly endorsed efforts by the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports to manage concussion issues more effectively. The panel instructed each rules committee to thoroughly review its policies in the areas of stopping play for injuries and to consider instituting rules that may further prevent head injuries.

"We understand the urgency of the issue and recognize the need to raise awareness of this safety concern," Tencher said. "It's important that we approach this the right way so that all institutions have the opportunity to implement appropriate procedures on the local level at all divisions."

PROP was joined by College Football Officiating, LLC, the national collegiate football officiating organization, which endorsed the competitive-safeguard committee's recommendations, pending clarification of various procedures. The CSMAS proposals would:

• Require student-athletes to exit play if they show various concussion symptoms and not be permitted to return until cleared by a physician or a physician's designee.

• Require that any student-athlete losing consciousness not be permitted to return to play or practice for the rest of that day and until cleared by a physician or a physician's designee.

Tencher and other PROP members noted that concussion management seems to parallel issues such as blood-on-uniform and heat-issue management issues that have been addressed through means other than outright playing rules.

For its part, the competitive-safeguards committee believes that effective guidelines are in place. It believes an additional educational mechanism, in the form of playing rules education, would help officials, coaches and student-athletes manage the issue.

"We understand their position," Tencher said, "but some of these concerns do have sports-specific elements. For example, the rules in football allow for players to be freely substituted. Other sports like baseball and soccer don't permit free substitution. In those cases, players might not be as forthcoming about their condition if they know that reporting the injury means they might not get back in the game. The overarching concept and rationale is certainly appropriate, and we believe the sport-specific issues can be addressed as appropriate."

PROP members fully support a "concussion summit" planned for later this year and hope additional dialog will provide more direction.