Pubdate: Wed, 02 Aug 2006
Source: Marshall News Messenger, The (TX)
Copyright: 2006 Cox Texas Newspapers, L.P.
Contact:  http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3870
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DIVISION III CONSIDERS PILOT PROGRAM COMBINING DRUG  TESTING AND DRUG
AND ALCOHOL EDUCATION

DALLAS - The Division III Management Council  endorsed a comprehensive
drug testing pilot program,  including drug and alcohol education,
during its July  17-18 meeting in Dallas.

The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee,  which also met
in Dallas, also supports the pilot  program, which would involve
nearly one-quarter of the  division's schools.

The program, which must be approved in August by the  Division III
Presidents Council before it can be  implemented during the 2007-08
academic year, would  devote about $400,000 annually, allocated during
  2007-2009, to an education and testing program  involving up to 100
institutions.

Management Council members supported an approach in  which voluntarily
participating institutions would  implement a model educational
program for their  student-athletes. Student-athletes at those schools
  would then be randomly tested for performance-enhancing  substances
and, potentially, street drugs. There would  not be any penalties
associated with a positive test  during the pilot phase of the program.

Survey data would be collected in an effort that would  broadly seek
to measure the impact of both education  and testing on substance and
alcohol abuse. The NCAA  national office would step up efforts to make
all  Division III institutions and student-athletes more  aware of
existing educational programs and resources as  part of the
initiative, and would allocate additional  funds to those programs,
beginning in 2006-07.

The Presidents Council will consider the proposal  during its Aug. 3
meeting in Indianapolis. 
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MAP posted-by: Steve Heath