NCAA Will Explore Other Approaches to Drug Testing and Penalties

The NCAA is known for having an incredibly stringent drug-testing policy, but new recommendations could lead to reform in the near future.

According to Brian Burnsed of NCAA.org, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports has informally proposed some changes for testing both performance-enhancing and recreational drug use.

The potential changes would lead to an even tougher stance against PEDs, but it would also focus on deterring student-athletes from using recreational drugs, as Burnsed explains:

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The committee’s recommendations, which will be further developed into a formal legislative proposal, were twofold: first, strengthen the NCAA drug-testing program for performance-enhancing substances; second, development of a shared model of deterrence for recreational drug use (e.g. marijuana, alcohol and opiates) with a focus on educational programs instead of a traditional testing model.

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According to Dan Wolken of USA Today, the changes would represent a major philosophical shift by the NCAA:

Since the NCAA's punishments for recreational drug use haven't resulted in a noticeable drop in usage, the current system may be in need of change, per Burnsed. NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports chair Brant Berkstresser also believes it is more important to quell performance-enhancing drug use.

"It is our hope the proposed model will address drug deterrence in the most effective way to change behavior," Berkstresser said. "We feel that the NCAA should be focused on drug testing for those substances that may provide an unfair performance advantage."

As pointed out by Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated, the NCAA's current policy against recreational drug use such as marijuana could be described as excessive:

It is clear that the committee is in agreement, which is why the state of NCAA drug testing and subsequent punishments could be much different moving forward.

The NCAA may be coming to the realization that there is no way to stop student-athletes from using recreational drugs, so looking for an alternative solution makes all the sense in the world.

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