Iowa's drug testing (1st positive) policy

JonDMiller

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
is going to take a beating, and already is....it raised some eyebrows, mind included.

But someone on twitter said something interesting...that Iowa is going to get beat up over this, when they DONT HAVE TO EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN TESTING POLICIES. They are not required to do what they do, they are only required to institute the NCAA and Big Ten policies, which are really only looking for performance enhancing drugs and are far less frequent in their testing.

Wish I had thought of that an hour ago
 
yes, and jan michelson was beating up on iowa a few days ago when he was going on and on about how some community college had their own testing program, and insinuating that iowa players weren't drug tested.

now that you have that in your repertoire, use it.
 
That could be John - but it could also be one of those "non-mandatory" football practices that are really quite mandatory.

Another question is what % of universities have their own drug testing system and how do their policies compare.

Now that might be quite a huge undertaking to find out.
 
No doubt. You can debate how good a coach he is but there is no do doubt he is one of the most upstanding individuals.
 
As a side note...

Given their mention that alcohol is also tested for, I took it to also mean that they could potentially be looking for patterns and problems with underage and of age athletes alike. Is some of that illegal, certainly, but do we really want them to suspend first time underage drinking offenses on an in house test?

I could be way off, but those were some of my initial thoughts.
 
Bigtenchamp said:
That could be John - but it could also be one of those "non-mandatory" football practices that are really quite mandatory.

Another question is what % of universities have their own drug testing system and how do their policies compare.

Now that might be quite a huge undertaking to find out.
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what's it matter what others do? iowa does it's own, doens't have to, so can mete out it's own policies as such. if counseling is a requirement after a 1st, I'd say that is great. help is what the person really needs, not a public flogging.
 
FYI, it's the same as ISU. First positive = counseling.

"According to the athletic department’s drug testing policy, the first failed drug test results in a meeting with the team’s coach and the student athlete will be required to participate in a drug counseling assessment, a counselor then determining if intervention or rehabilitation is needed."

http://www.stateuniversity.com/news_items/1514.html#ixzz186uysfld

Level II Infraction [which includes violations of Drug Testing Policy; an arrest for drugs would be Level I = automatic suspension]

1st Offense: Counseling, Community Service

2nd Offense: Counseling, Community Service, Suspension from 10% of competitions

3rd Offense: Indefinite suspension from competition with suspension from practice possible

http://www.athleticmanagement.com/2010/10/15/drawing_a_clear_line/index.php

Many schools have their student-athlete handbooks on the web publicly but I could not find ISU's.
 
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Makes sense, getting somebody help e.i. counseling or treatment is far more effective than punishment. Addiction is a disease people.
 
Iowa's drug testing (1st positive) policy.

1st positive - counseling required, suspension possible
2nd positive - suspension

Jon, how many unaccounted or drug related suspensions have occurred in the past 6-10 years?
 
Jon, I know what you are saying with regards to Iowa potentially getting beat up over this but it really shouldn't. The self-testing that Iowa does has 2 by-products that I can think of.

1. It identifies issues before a higher body (Big Ten/NCAA) does. They can control their image by taking care of any issues before it gets to that level.

2. They are doing it for the benefit of the student/athletes. If the young people they are developing are identified with having a problem they can get them the help they need from a counselling standpoint. That is not to say the student/athletes will give up drugs but it is about the limit of what an institution like the university can do.

With regards to penalty aspect of a first offense, I am guessing that because the tests aren't done with the intent of penalizing but rather identifying issues that may exists they go on the light-side relative to punishment.

It is interesting that the University's drug testing program dates back to 1988 which was during the timeframe of the Marble/Horton/Cuthpert timeframe which was controversial in it's own right with the amount of money ($16,522) the University spent on rehabbing the 3 athletes at a center in Florida.

iahawk72


JonDMiller said:
is going to take a beating, and already is....it raised some eyebrows, mind included.

But someone on twitter said something interesting...that Iowa is going to get beat up over this, when they DONT HAVE TO EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN TESTING POLICIES. They are not required to do what they do, they are only required to institute the NCAA and Big Ten policies, which are really only looking for performance enhancing drugs and are far less frequent in their testing.

Wish I had thought of that an hour ago
Click to expand...
 
JonDMiller said:
is going to take a beating, and already is....it raised some eyebrows, mind included.

But someone on twitter said something interesting...that Iowa is going to get beat up over this, when they DONT HAVE TO EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN TESTING POLICIES. They are not required to do what they do, they are only required to institute the NCAA and Big Ten policies, which are really only looking for performance enhancing drugs and are far less frequent in their testing.

Wish I had thought of that an hour ago
Click to expand...

I sent a tweet at Perault earlier about this, not sure if that's what you are referring to but here's the article I got it from.

The Big Ten and the NCAA only test for performance-enhancing drugs. The tests done by UI check for all illegal substances. The program is run through University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Iowa isn’t required to test its student-athletes. It is something they added more than two decades ago and costs about $70,000 annually.

UI has its own drug-testing policy | Hawk Central
 
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For what it's worth:

"At a 2008 Presidential Committee on Athletics meeting, Professor Betsy Altmaier, the PCA’s faculty representative and liaison to the Big Ten and NCAA, touted Iowa’s drug-testing program as the Big Ten’s best. “The Big Ten program is just a drop in the bucket,” she said. “They’ll catch somebody by chance.”"

UI football players subject to 3 rounds of drug testing | TheGazette

Doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. But I've seen no FACTUAL support for the idea Iowa's program is somehow worse than its peers. The evidence I've seen suggests it's better.
 
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The University of Iowa is already exceeding NCAA requirements. No need to get tougher until everyone else does as well.
 
Billso said:
Nebraska policy:

First Offense:
Notification of designated parent/guardian or emergency contact.
Frequent urine drug testing through remainder of the academic year.
Probation.
Educational program participation required.
Follow recommendations of a substance abuse evaluation.

http://www.huskers.com//pdf4/394689.pdf?SPSID=31925&SPID=41&DB_OEM_ID=100
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You ever find the clones? IF anybody could find out which other schools have self imposed testing and how much they spend on it, It'd be interesting to see it

Edit:Didn't see you had edited into your earlier post.
 
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The Ohio State University policy:

IV. PROCEDURES FOLLOWING A POSITIVE DRUG TEST FOR DRUGS OF ABUSE AND/OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE OCCURRENCE
A. First Positive
1. The management team consists of the Associate Athletic Director, medical review offi cer, drug testing coordinator, intervention coordinator and head coach or his/her designee. The management team will be informed of a positive drug positive test and/or alcohol/substance abuse related offense (e.g., DUI, alcohol related assault, underage possession of alcohol).
2. The student-athlete will be evaluated by the intervention coordinator and a substance abuse counselor approved by the Department of Athletics.
3. The management team will determine a management plan for the student-athlete and will meet with the studentathlete in the program at least once a year to oversee their compliance and monitor their progress.
4. The intervention coordinator will send a quarterly update to the management team about the status of the student-athlete.
5. The student-athlete will be subject to reasonable cause testing as determined by the management team’s recommendation.
6. The student athlete who has an alcohol/substance abuse occurrence (DUI, underage possession, etc.) will be subject to more stringent alcohol testing as part of their management plan. Any positive test for alcohol in these student athletes who are under 21 will be deemed a second positive in the program.

http://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/fls/17300/pdf/compliance/handbook09/Chapter_5.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=17300
 
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Billso said:
FYI, it's the same as ISU. First positive = counseling.

"According to the athletic department’s drug testing policy, the first failed drug test results in a meeting with the team’s coach and the student athlete will be required to participate in a drug counseling assessment, a counselor then determining if intervention or rehabilitation is needed."

Iowa State football players allowed to play despite marijuana charges - StateUniversity.com News

Level II Infraction [which includes violations of Drug Testing Policy; an arrest for drugs would be Level I = automatic suspension]

1st Offense: Counseling, Community Service

2nd Offense: Counseling, Community Service, Suspension from 10% of competitions

3rd Offense: Indefinite suspension from competition with suspension from practice possible

http://www.athleticmanagement.com/2010/10/15/drawing_a_clear_line/index.php

Many schools have their student-athlete handbooks on the web publicly but I could not find ISU's.
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The issue that Cyclone fans will have with you posting this isn't that it's the same, it's that Iowa doesn't suspend their players for a first positive.

That's all they really care about; that Iowa's players don't see the field.
 
Duke University policy:

III. The consequences of a positive test for street drugs and other classes of banned substances, other than anabolic steroids, peptide hormones and analogues, and diuretics.

a. A first positive test for a street drug, or other banned substance, other than anabolic steroids, peptide hormones and analogues, and diuretics, will be treated as a matter calling for evaluation, treatment, and counseling. A student will be subject to unannounced drug testing as part of his or her treatment. As part of a treatment plan, the student may be suspended from competition. A positive test which indicates that the student has used a banned substance during the period of evaluation, treatment, and counseling shall be treated as a second positive test, if it is a street drug or other banned substance, other than an anabolic steroid, peptide hormone or analogues, or a diuretic.

IV. The consequences of a positive test for anabolic steroids, peptide hormones and analogues, and diuretics. The use of anabolic steroids and peptide hormones and analogues is cheating and undermines the integrity of any athletic competition in which the offending student participates.

a. A first positive test for an anabolic steroid, a peptide hormone or analogue, or a diuretic will result in a suspension of eligibility to compete in all intercollegiate competition for one calendar year.

Duke University Student-Athlete Handbook - Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site - GoDuke.com

Note that performance-enhancing drugs punishment is actually an NCAA policy, and thus applies to Iowa also, and results in a MANDATORY one-year suspension. This is discussed in some detail in OSU's manual.
 
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