The Ivy League presidents accepted a series of recommendations made by the League's Multi-Sport Concussion Review Committee aimed at limiting the incidence of concussion in men's and women's lacrosse and men's and women's soccer.
The Multi-Sport Concussion Review Committee oversaw the reviews in men's and women's lacrosse and soccer. The Multi-Sport Committee arose from the Ivy League's Ad Hoc Committee on Concussion, which conducted last year's football concussion review and was also co-chaired by Dartmouth then-President Jim Yong Kim and Cornell President David J. Skorton, both medical doctors. Sport-specific committees reviewed men's and women's soccer (one committee), men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse, and included Ivy League head coaches, administrators, expert consultants, team physicians and athletic trainers.
"These concussion reviews, particularly as they relate to the safety of our student-athletes, reflect the Ivy League's interest in taking a leadership role in appropriate aspects of athletics generally and regarding concussions specifically. Expanding our review to include more sports is another way to drive the discussion and help student-athletes across our broad-based athletics programs," said Robin Harris, Ivy League Executive Director.
In developing the recommendations, the three sport-specific committees reviewed national data and research, as well as three years of retrospective Ivy League concussion data. Coaches and athletics trainers at each school collected the Ivy League data, which tracked the number of concussions and the circumstances surrounding the concussions on each team.
The recommendations, to take effect for the 2012-13 academic year, incorporate several common components including a continued emphasis on educational initiatives. For example, consistent with current protocols, preseason meetings between teams and athletic trainers, team physicians and outside speakers will emphasize learning and recognizing the signs of concussion, the importance of reporting symptoms and the potential life-changing impact of concussion.
Also among the common recommendations, men's and women's lacrosse and men's and women's soccer will collect prospective data regarding concussions in the coming seasons in order to produce higher quality concussion data for further study. The Ivy League office will also collect video clips from men's and women's soccer and men's and women's lacrosse games to assess whether the video is of sufficient quality to allow for the future implementation of a postgame review and possible suspension policy, similar to the current review in football.
"When looking at sports such as lacrosse and soccer it became obvious that the need for quality data had to be our focus for the future," said Skorton. "We need to determine under exactly what circumstances these concussions are occurring on the field. In the interim, taking steps to minimize exposures while also increasing education became paramount."
The Ivy League presidents also accepted sport-specific recommendations, including:
Men's Lacrosse
• Coaches will designate 11 combined days in the fall and spring seasons in which body checking will not be permitted in practices.
• Only one full-contact practice per day will be permitted.
• Coaches will place a greater emphasis on teaching proper hitting techniques in practice.
• The Ivy League office will work with the NCAA on specific issues that could potentially lower the incidence of concussion, including examining the possibility of more stringent consequences for penalties involving targeting the head as well as considering possible rules changes surrounding face-offs.
Women's Lacrosse
• Coaches will modify 10 spring practices to exclude stick-checking.
• Coaches will dedicate time during the beginning of fall practice and skill instruction season on teaching proper stick-checking technique.
• Each student-athlete will be required to attend at least one skill instruction session that focuses on proper stick-checking technique prior to the first fall practice.
• Other adopted recommendations centered on suggestions for minimizing accidental hits to the head during practices and continued assessment of officiating to address fouls involving hits (i.e., stick-checking) to the head and other dangerous play.
• Certified officials will attend one fall practice to emphasize adherence to safety rules and cardable fouls.
Men's and Women's Soccer
• Education regarding the NCAA substitution rule will be emphasized to student-athletes, coaches and officials. The rule allows for substitution and re-entry for players with concussion-like symptoms so that they can be properly evaluated on the sideline but substituted back into the game (not counting against team's substitution total) if they are cleared to play by a team trainer or physician.
• Three hours of countable preseason practice will be used by coaches to teach and review proper techniques for heading duels.
"The presidents are committed to continuing to review the frequency and impact of concussions in collegiate athletics in order to protect the welfare of our student-athletes," said Shirley M. Tilghman, Ivy League Council of Presidents chair and Princeton University President. "Concussion research is rapidly evolving, and our policies need to reflect changes in our understanding of this important issue."
The Ivy League has also identified men's and women's ice hockey as sports warranting a similar concussion review. The Multi-Sport Concussion Committee will review the findings and suggestions of the ad hoc men's and women's ice hockey committees, and the presidents will consider these recommendations in December.
Additionally, the Ivy League recently announced a collaboration with the Big Ten Conference, in conjunction with the Big Ten Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), to engage in a co-sponsored, cross-institutional research collaboration to study the effects of head injuries in sports, continuing efforts dating back more than two years. The historic collaboration brings together two prestigious academic and athletic entities, and will allow for the coordination of ongoing efforts by each conference to research and address various aspects of head injuries in athletics, including concussions. The world-class academic and research capabilities of the institutions will help to promote a collaborative and collegial atmosphere to address a burgeoning issue impacting the welfare of athletes at all levels of sport.
