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In an effort to curb brain injuries in football, the NCAA is teaming up with the United States Department of Defense to put together a $30 million concussion database. The effort is part of a widespread initiative throughout all levels of the sport to better understand concussions and find out how to prevent them.
There has never been such a large, centralized database, which has been one of the biggest problems for scientists trying to study concussions. NCAA chief medical officer Brian Hainline has long wanted an all-encompassing concussion database, and this will bring him much closer to that goal. According to CBS Sports' Jon Solomon, the database will start with 10 schools and the full student bodies of the service academies.
The NCAA explained the goals of the program — which will be led by researchers at Indiana, Michigan, and the Medical College of Wisconsin — and the money allocation more in-depth:
Roughly 75 percent of the money will fund the study, which will enroll an estimated 37,000 male and female NCAA student-athletes over the three-year study period. Participants will receive a comprehensive preseason evaluation for concussion and will be monitored in the event of an injury. The investigation will be the largest ever of its type, offering critical insight to the risks, treatment and management of concussion.
The remaining 25 percent of the funding will finance an educational grand challenge aimed at changing important concussion safety behaviors and the culture of concussion reporting and management.
While the NCAA and NFL have received the most scrutiny for their concussion prevention efforts, the focus has now turned to youth sports. The White House is holding a summit to discuss concussions on Thursday, and it already has a $25 million pledge from the NFL to help make youth football safer.
The NCAA is currently in settlement talks for a number of combined concussion lawsuits, and while the organization previously claimed — perhaps erroneously — that it has no legal obligation to protect athletes, it's starting to make some substantive progress in concussion research.