Around the Nation board

[HoosierQBScout]

was anyone listening to sporting news radio (may have been espn radio) over the weekend...they were talking about steroids (Bonds, etc.) and some guy called in talking about how the juice is permeating sports at ALL levels...called out Mt. Union point blank saying the team's success is based in part on steroid use...couldn't believe the host let him get away with it...but is that a feeling shared in DIII circles???

[Pat Coleman]

I highly doubt it. Drug testing has been involved in the NCAA playoffs since the first playoff game I covered, in 1997. Surely if Mount Union's players were using steroids, someone would have tested positive, considering MUC has been in the playoffs every year since that time and before.

[HoosierQBScout]

so teams are actually tested? how does that work...each team that qualifies for the post season gets tested??

[gordonmann]

I'm not sure how the testing policy is applied but, yes, the players test for steroids and other illegal substances (i.e. marijuana, etc).

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

My Freshman year at MUC (1990) when we made the playoffs, only 10 players from the winning team were tested in the playoffs.  I don't know how "random" those players were chosen.  They may have upped the number by now.

[footballfan413]

I know that several random UW-Whitewater players were pulled immediately after their win against Linfield and tested so that would lead me to believe that the NCAA has some kind of procedure in place to test players during the play-offs.  Don't know how frequent it is, how they pick the players and if it is done only with the winning teams.  Never heard of it happening during the regular season.

[religion_major]

Now they pull several players at random imediately after the game and test for drugs.  I am not sure if they do so every week or not.

[JT]

Now they pull several players at random imediately after the game and test for drugs.  I am not sure if they do so every week or not.

I don't think there is testing until the playoffs.

[Augie6]

I played at Augie in the Mid 80's and 1986 was the first year the NCAA did testing during the playoffs.  It was supposed to be a random test, but they randomly managed to test all of our starters on offense and defense.  The test was done immediately after our second round playoff game at Mt. Union.  It was poorly organized and it actually took longer to complete the test on all of our players than it did to play the game.

[footballfan413]

I played at Augie in the Mid 80's and 1986 was the first year the NCAA did testing during the playoffs.  It was supposed to be a random test, but they randomly managed to test all of our starters on offense and defense.  The test was done immediately after our second round playoff game at Mt. Union.  It was poorly organized and it actually took longer to complete the test on all of our players than it did to play the game.

Now that you mention it, the "randomly selected players," who were tested from UWW after the Linfield win were all starters and impact players......

[Rock]

my son was a freshman on the Oxy team that Linfield thumped 2 years ago. He was tested, I remember it took longer than the game also. It appears to be done after your last game in the playoffs, win or lose.

rock

[Wydown Blvd.]

Has there been any talk about the new rules to shorten the football games... (and if so what board)?

[xxxxxxxxxxxx]

test

[MonroviaCat]

Why are they testing players after the game?  Why not randomly during the week as well?  Oh right, NCAA wouldn't spend money to send 'testers' out to various D3 schools...during the week.

[Tuxguy]

MonroviaCat,

I think you hit it on the head, the NCAA  doesn't like to spend the $$$$$!

But, do they only check the winning team? Or both? Random starters sounds like to me!