Drug Testing in CFB

[307husker]

Is there a standardized drug testing system throughout CFB? Is there an independent organization that administers and monitors drug testing for NCAA football? Are the tests geared towards performance enhancing substances (anabolic steroids) or street drugs (marijuana)?

 

The USADA seems to be the driving sports behind much of the doping detection world (cycling, olympic sports) and I know that the NCAA drug tests at some NCAA championships but the testing is inconsistent and poorly performed. Just wondered how it was done for football.

[HuskerShark]

I'm not sure if there is a system in place, but I have always been a proponent in ALL sports for regular PED and illegal drug testing.

 

As an athlete, if you have nothing to hide, it shouldn't be a big deal.

[wiuhusker]

I know that the school I attended had 2 separate drug tests. The school itself administered a drug test for the street drugs and we also had an outised agency come in and administer tests for PED's. This may not directly answer your question becuase I did not play college football but I attended a small division 1 school and this is the way things happened there. Hope this helps

[Chaddyboxer]

I've heard about 10 years ago, FSU would administer their own illegal and PED tests to their players...I got this information from a teacher who was a grad assistant there in the late 90's I believe.

[307husker]

With the varying degrees of "institutional control" it seems to be a very bad idea to leave the Universities to perform and monitor their own drug controls. How much faith would anybody have if each cycling team was responsible for their own drug testing. I am surprised that the NCAA does not fill this role more substantially, at least with PED's, and perform consistent testing across the universities under their system. Or, maybe they don't want to mess with the cash cow...

[Chaddyboxer]

Yep....a huge conflict of interest...yet I am unsure if there is a third-party that comes in and administers the tests and evaluates the results nowadays.

[knapplc]

With the varying degrees of "institutional control" it seems to be a very bad idea to leave the Universities to perform and monitor their own drug controls. How much faith would anybody have if each cycling team was responsible for their own drug testing. I am surprised that the NCAA does not fill this role more substantially, at least with PED's, and perform consistent testing across the universities under their system. Or, maybe they don't want to mess with the cash cow...

 

I agree. I think there needs to be much more strident testing - WADA-like testing. The NCAA, as usual, doesn't seem up to the task.

 

I have no idea how prevalent PEDs are in college sports. Without a tough testing policy and strict enforcement, I'd say it's probably somewhat high. Higher than we'd like.

[307husker]

It seems that it may put certain "clean" programs at a distinct disadvantage in a number of ways. If recruits know that one program is clean, and another is not, and their goal is to make it into the NFL at any cost, the schools may self-select the types of recuits that they eventually land via their drug testing.

 

I think Pelini is seen as a person who is very likely running a clean program and would not put up with PED's. There are other programs, and conferences, with a significantly different reputation. Without an independent 3rd party keeping the testing consistent, it leaves a lot of room for speculation.

 

Do I think most 18 year old kids would juice if they thought they could get away with it? Absolutely yes. There's a lot of $$$ and fame on the line and PED's are a HUGE advantage.

[knapplc]

Hell, I knew guys in High School who had no chance at a college sports career, let alone the pros, who juiced. I never did and I never understood why they did, but it was common enough 100 years ago when I was in High School that I was aware of it. And I wasn't aware of much back then but girls and... well, girls.

[Chaddyboxer]

With the varying degrees of "institutional control" it seems to be a very bad idea to leave the Universities to perform and monitor their own drug controls. How much faith would anybody have if each cycling team was responsible for their own drug testing. I am surprised that the NCAA does not fill this role more substantially, at least with PED's, and perform consistent testing across the universities under their system. Or, maybe they don't want to mess with the cash cow...

 

I agree. I think there needs to be much more strident testing - WADA-like testing. The NCAA, as usual, doesn't seem up to the task.

 

I have no idea how prevalent PEDs are in college sports. Without a tough testing policy and strict enforcement, I'd say it's probably somewhat high. Higher than we'd like.

I have to agree with this. There are kits out there that can help you pass drug tests and with the BALCO labs scandal coming to light, I bet there are plenty of underground companies that help create PED's that are undetectable by standard drug tests. To explain further, once you make a slight change to the molecular structure of a PED, it can be undetectable by standardized drug tests, pretty clever. The same goes with pro-hormones. Pro-hormone supplements are very similar to REAL anabolic/androgenic class 1 and class 2 steroids, yet the molecular structure is slightly altered so that it can be sold to the public (FDA doesn't highly regulate supplements, however, they can pull and ban supplements if they feel it is illegal by their standards and policies).

[Chaddyboxer]

Hell, I knew guys in High School who had no chance at a college sports career, let alone the pros, who juiced. I never did and I never understood why they did, but it was common enough 100 years ago when I was in High School that I was aware of it. And I wasn't aware of much back then but girls and... well, girls.

The funny thing is...not to get into a whole steroids talk, but I have known guys who have taken plenty of steroids before and yes they grew significantly. However, other guys would take the same amounts, same compounds, for the same durations, yet not even closely produce the same growth/strength results as others that I've known. And I've also known guys who would be honest with me and state that they wouldn't take very much in regards to PED's, yet they would grow like weeds and become freaks. Does genetics play a role in how your body reacts? It most certainly does....along with a host of other factors.

[Chaddyboxer]

I know a guy right now that I use to lift with in highschool and not to brag, but I would easily out-lift him and was about the same size muscular wise. Well.....now he is competing in the semi-pro ranks as a bodybuilder and is a complete FREAK! GIGANTORE! He gets up to over 300lbs in the offseason and when he diets down, he gets down to a ripped 245 to 250. He is a monster. I am like, "Hmmm...geee. I wonder how in the hell you got so huge?" Well, I found out from a buddy of mine that knows him well that he has been taking all sorts of PED's. Now, if you take too much of anything, you are asking for trouble. It sounds like he is taking plenty to keep himself at the current size he is at. Lest not forget, it takes hard work and dedication to get as big as he is, yet I wouldn't ever go down that road with all the PED's he takes. It's his body and it's his choice. I am not judging him for doing so.

[Chaddyboxer]

Lastly, people forget that in '91, the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court called upon the DEA, FDA and one other government organization to determine if steriods should be found illegal to the public. Well, the DEA, FDA and the other organization decided that steroids should not be made illegal to the public and that there can be safe use. Well, someone must' have paid off Congress because their determination was negated by Congress and anabolic/androgenic steroids were made illegal. You can find that fact on the documentary "Bigger, Faster, Stronger."

[shyndy]

Lastly, people forget that in '91, the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court called upon the DEA, FDA and one other government organization to determine if steriods should be found illegal to the public. Well, the DEA, FDA and the other organization decided that steroids should not be made illegal to the public and that there can be safe use. Well, someone must' have paid off Congress because their determination was negated by Congress and anabolic/androgenic steroids were made illegal. You can find that fact on the documentary "Bigger, Faster, Stronger."

Which was a really interesting documentary I thought.

[da skers]

I know that the school I attended had 2 separate drug tests. The school itself administered a drug test for the street drugs and we also had an outised agency come in and administer tests for PED's. This may not directly answer your question becuase I did not play college football but I attended a small division 1 school and this is the way things happened there. Hope this helps

This is pretty much how it works. NCAA comes in and does some testing for PED's at certain times of the year and then the school does random and regular testing during the year for a whole list of things.

 

The issue I have is that if you fail a school test then its up to the school as to the punishment and you're only in NCAA trouble on their tests. Those are also the only ones that are officially reported. Since each school decides its own punishment you have some places that are pretty extreme on a failed test and you have other places that more or less tell the guy don't do that and he runs some laps or something. That's why you have the starting QB at places like TCU fail and never miss a game while at NU the dude is out two weeks.