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NCAA DRUG POLICY

NCAA Drug Tests
The NCAA conducts random tests for steroids and street drugs at bowl games and NCAA championship events.  The NCAA has also instituted a summer drug testing policy where student-athletes may be tested wherever they spend their summer.  It is the responsibility of their university to provide the NCAA with contact information.

A positive test will result in the loss of eligibility for the remainder of the current year and will end one calendar year after the student-athlete’s positive drug test.  If a student-athlete tests positive, eligibility must be restored by the NCAA.  After a one-season penalty a subsequent drug test will follow to make sure the student-athlete is negative.

NCAA Tobacco Products
The use of tobacco products is prohibited in all sports during practice and competition for all student-athletes, coaches and game personnel.  A student-athlete who uses tobacco products during practice or competition will be disqualified for the remainder of that practice or competition (NCAA Bylaw 17.1.7).

The Clemson Athletic Department program is consistent with applicable NCAA policies.  To the extent permitted by law, information obtained in the operation of the program is confidential.

NCAA’s View on Nutritional Supplements
The NCAA Drug Education and Drug Testing subcommittee (DEDT) has issued numerous memorandums to NCAA members regarding the risks involved with the use of nutritional supplements.  Despite these efforts, the DEDT notes a significant number of positive drug tests.  The DEDT is issuing this advisory to reemphasize the warning about the risks involved in the use of nutritional supplements.  The environment for today’s student-athlete is filled with easy access to products which are legally available over-the-counter but contain substances banned by the NCAA.  Many student-athletes assume if these products can be purchased at a health food store, they must be allowed under NCAA rules.  THIS IS NOT TRUE!  Reliance on the advice of the clerk at the store, the distributor at the gym, or anyone who is not with the student-athlete’s athletics program, has resulted in erroneous information about whether the product contains any NCAA-banned substance.  This false information sometimes results in a positive drug test for banned ingredients contained in the product.  Appeals based on this argument have not been successful in overturning a positive drug-test penalty.

Some common nutritional supplements are creatine, DHEA, androstenedione, 19-norandrostenedione glucosamine, ma huang (ephedrine), amino acids and ginseng.  Many fat burners and weight-gain products contain nutritional supplements.  Nutritional supplements can come in pill, powder, liquid and bars.  Some are NCAA-banned substances and some are not.  They all are legal and may be obtained at grocery stores, pharmacies, health food stores, on the Internet and almost anywhere.  Student-athletes who test positive for illegal supplements are subject to a one-year suspension and loss of eligibility.

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