After reading through the majority of the posts related to the three suspended Tigger players and rampant speculation about how the drug testing actually works, it's quite evident that there is quite a bit of confusion and uncertainty about the whole process. Having a small amount of familiarity with the process, I would like to try to educate everyone about the limited details in which I am cognizant.
First of all I want to mention that I am not directly familiar with the procedures of CU directly, so if their staff is doing things differently than how they claim, there's no way of knowing exactly what's going on up there or if the information that the media receives is accurate or complete. My only knowledge of their specific policies comes from the code of conduct listed in the Clemson University Student Athlete Handbook that my step-brother received before being cut when trying out to be a walk-on for the basketball team.
Also, before people begin to accuse me of not knowing what I'm talking about, I want to explain the source of my familiarity. During my junior and senior years as a EE student (electrical engineering) at USC my fiance at the time had a part time job as an assistant in the NCAA compliance department of the Gamecock Athletic Department. As a 2005 graduate, my knowledge of these procedures is limited to the Lou Holtz era, and it's entirely possible that Spurrier may have changed some of the universities' policies, and the NCAA may have made alterations to their procedures as well.
For those of you that will undoubtedly question the validity of my claims, I'll go ahead and mention that as an engineering student at USC nearly all of the classes related to my major were held in the Swearingen engineering building located at the bottom of the campus next to Whaley's Mill apartments and Green's discount alcohol. My computer related classes were held at the 300 Main computer building and my math classes were typically held in LeConte. I lived in the Bates House dorm at first before moving to an off campus apartment in Cayce called the University Commons at the time.
Hopefully those details will be sufficient to prove the credibility of my claim that I am a USC alumnus. I'm well aware of the numerous Tigger fans on here that constantly pose here as USC students, fans, and alumni—specifically that 5pointsalum guy that tries harder than anyone in the history of this board to try to convince everyone that he is a USC student.
I apologize for the delay in getting to the point, but I thought it would be important to provide enough background information to prove my credibility in order to get anyone to believe anything that I'm about to post.
First of all, drug testing for student athletes in the NCAA is conducted by two separate entities. The NCAA has their own year round random drug testing program for all sports, and each university has the option of implementing their own drug testing program. As recently as 15 years ago it was not mandatory for each school to conduct their own drug tests, but I'm not aware of any major college that didn't have their own program in place.
As far as the NCAA's random testing goes, they randomly select a small percentage of athletes to be tested a few times throughout the year. The compliance director of the athletic department of each university is informed of which student-athletes have been selected to be tested the day before the drug test has been scheduled. At this point a school representative notifies the athlete of when and where the test will be conducted. The student-athlete is required to give two urine samples (A and B samples) at a third party testing lab (i.e., LabCorp) at the scheduled time. If they fail to provide the samples, they may temporarily lose their eligibility.
During these random year round tests, the NCAA only tests for performance enhancing drugs such as steroids, hormones, masking agents, etc. Street drugs are typically not included in these tests unless the student-athlete has had a prior positive test or is believed to have attempted to full the test by dilution, chemical additives, or specimen substitution. A representative of the same gender is required to be present when the sample(s) are given to prevent any form of sabotage.
The samples are analyzed in an independent lab, and the results are typically not received until anywhere from 2-4 weeks after the day of the test.
A failed drug test conducted by the NCAA results in a one year suspension for a first offense. A second failed test for PED's results in the player being declared permanently ineligible, and a second failed test for street drugs is punished by a second one year suspension.
In regards to football, drug tests are also administered during the bowl season. Contrary to the claims that have been made by several posters in this thread, the drug test are not conducted until after the game has been completed. The randomly selected players plus any players that have previously tested positive are informed immediately after the conclusion of the game that they have to submit a drug test, and they are required to provide their samples before returning back to their campus. If the student-athlete refuses or is not able to provide a sample before time for his team to depart, an NCAA rep will accompany him back to his campus at the expense of his university's athletic department.
Recently the NCAA has made a change in their testing procedure to be conducted prior to the bowl games. Also, this is the one time that the NCAA increases the range of their test from only PED's to marijuana as well. The marijuana test is conducted prior to the samples being sent off to a lab for PED testing. Because of this change in procedure, players who test positive before their bowl game are immediately deemed ineligible for his team's subsequent six games, stretching from their team's bowl game until the first 5 games of the following season.
The NCAA is currently attempting to change their approach to marijuana testing and eliminate marijuana testing altogether at the national level. With research showing that an average of 21 percent of student-athletes have smoked marijuana within the previous twelve months, there is a strong push for reform. They are trying to delegate marijuana testing to individual schools and eliminate the current mandatory six game suspension. With the changing attitude toward marijuana in the nation as a whole, the current belief is that testing positive for marijuana should not be viewed the same as a positive test for harder drugs like methamphetamines, cocaine, or heroin.
Despite the NCAA's evolving approach to marijuana and their plans to eliminate marijuana suspensions altogether at a national level, each athletic department still has their own policies in place. There is currently very little support for eliminating punishment for failed marijuana tests among nearly all major universities.
USC Policy
As far as our university is concerned, the policies are part of the athletic departments Student Athlete Wellness Program and assisted by the college of health sciences. Random drug tests are conducted throughout the year for a portion of student-athletes on an individual basis that are selected by a computer at random. Also, drug tests are sometimes given without notice to a team or portion of a team before or after a workout, practice, or game. Tests are also conducted based on reasonable cause and following a drug or alcohol related arrest.
After a first offense positive drug test, student athletes are tested on a regular basis for the following 18 months and must enroll in a formal drug abuse treatment program. A second failed drug test for any banned substance other than alcohol will result in dismissal from their team and forfeit of any scholarships and financial aid.
For alcohol related offenses, the player must undergo random testing and counseling for a first offense, required enrollment in a formal alcohol abuse treatment program and 12 months of non-random testing followed by an undetermined length of random testing for a second offense, and dismissal from the team for a third offense.
Tigger Policy
Drug tests are conducted in a few different ways. Random drug tests are given to all student-athletes throughout the year, test are given based on good cause, and each participating member of each team is tested for PED's and marijuana prior to any championship level contest and prior to any bowl games.
A first failed drug test for anything other than marijuana or PEDS will result in regular testing for the following 12 months, required enrollment into an intervention program with counseling, and suspension for 10 percent of regular season games.
A second failed drug test for banned substances other than marijuana and PEDS will result in immediate dismissal from his/her team and forfeiture of any future financial aid or scholarship.
A first failed test for marijuana will result in frequent unannounced retesting for the remainder of the year and required enrollment in an intervention program.
A second failed marijuana test will result in a suspension of 10 percent of his/her team's regular season games and suspension for his/her team's championship or bowl game(s). They will also be subject to frequent unannounced testing for the remainder of the year and required enrollment in a second level intervention program.
A third failed marijuana test will result in dismissal from the team and forfeiture of any financial aid and scholarship. The student will also have the option of entering a long term inpatient treatment facility at his own expense and will be eligible to return to the university upon completion of this rehab. Following a year of sobriety the student has the option of applying for reinstatement to his former team.
A first failed test for PED's will result in suspension for half of a season, frequent testing for the remainder of his/her college career, and enrollment in an intervention program.
A second failed test for PED's results in immediate dismissal from the team and forfeiture of any financial aid and scholarships.
