Report: NCAA could test out standardized football injury reports in 2019
There’s a chance that college football could have a standardized injury report for the 2019 season.
According to CBS Sports, an NCAA committee formed in the wake of sports gambling legislation could soon propose that college sports adopt a basic injury report that lists players as “available,” “possible” and “unavailable.” If approved the pilot program would be implemented for the 2019 football season.
Wednesday evening, an NCAA spokesperson said any speculation about a pilot program was premature.
The Ad Hoc Committee on Sports Wagering is looking at a number of topics, including player availability. Any speculation on a pilot program is premature.
— Stacey Osburn (@NCAAStacey) May 2, 2019
No standardized injury reports in college football
There are currently no injury reports in college football because of federal privacy laws. The lack of a mandated injury report can lead coaches to be incredibly secretive about player injuries and availability. After all, this is a sport that has coaches who refuse to release depth charts.
The basic three-tier injury report system proposed above would still allow college coaches the secrecy they desire and abide by privacy laws. Schools wouldn’t have to list the reason that a player was “possible” for an upcoming game.
The move toward finding common ground on injury reports comes as the NCAA adapts to the increasing legality of sports betting. It, understandably, realizes that betting lines could be affected by secret injury information. That said, it could qualify as ironic that the NCAA would be worried about people legally making money off of games involving participants who are barred from being paid.
Big 12 coaches had discussions this week at its meetings about an injury report in the conference in 2019.
“I just want it to be unified,” Texas coach Tom Herman told reporters about the idea of a conference injury report. “I think the whole [American Football Coaches Association], everybody would have to be on the same page.” Even within the Big 12, coaches take a wide-range of approaches when it comes to transparency about injuries.”
The Big Ten reportedly said in 2018 that it supported the introduction of injury reports.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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