Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pac-12 to limit contact in practice

Move intended to reduce injuries for football players

Janie Mccauley Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO – In an effort to cut down on concussions, head trauma and other injuries, the Pac-12 Conference is establishing a league-wide policy to limit the amount of contact made during football practices beginning this season.

Commissioner Larry Scott said Monday that the conference will limit hits to numbers “less than what the NCAA permits,” while many of the schools already have their own “self-imposed limits.” Now, there will be an across-the-board rule in an effort to decrease head trauma and other injuries.

“In our discussions it became clear this is a topic our coaches are focused on,” Scott said. “There is a high degree of awareness about it and a deep commitment to it. It was a high priority.”

Details of how the conference will monitor each school’s hits and contact are still being worked out. Scott expects everything to be in place by late July.

The Pac-12 CEO Group, made up of school presidents, agreed on the plan during weekend meetings in Park City, Utah, as part of the conference’s new comprehensive “student-athlete health initiative” developed to improve the health and safety of the league’s 7,000 student-athletes. The meeting also included athletic directors and other representatives from the 12 schools.

There have been some 200 research projects by the conference schools related to the subject of health and safety for student-athletes, Scott said.

“The first step here is we’re going to be codifying new Pac-12 policies on hits and contact in practice that are less than what the NCAA permits,” Scott said. “We have studied and discussed with our coaches what progress the NFL has made in terms of looking at what happens in practice and reducing the cumulative impact and cumulative hits that occur in practice, and trying to apply policies that are appropriate for college.”

During nine months of study of the NFL’s efforts to decrease concussions, and input from doctors and athletic trainers, the Pac-12 decided – based on Scott’s recommendation – to move forward with a plan of its own that fits into the “teaching” approach of college football and its NCAA-mandated 20-hour-week rule.

• After “lessons learned” last season, the Pac-12 also is working to restructure its leadership for men’s basketball officiating. Scott said the conference is thinking broadly rather than focusing on having just one person in charge. He expects to announce more within the next couple of weeks.

During the Pac-12 tournament, the conference learned that former officiating coordinator Ed Rush had offered bounties for any official who disciplined Arizona coach Sean Miller. While Rush has said he wasn’t serious and was “jokingly” trying to “lighten the mood” in the locker room, he resigned April 4.

Findings of an independent review by Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller LLP confirmed the conference’s handling of the situation this spring.

• In other topics covered in Scott’s conference call Monday, he said the Pac-12 Networks would increase coverage of live events from 550 to 750 in the second year with what Scott called “an unprecedented number of Olympic events.”