NCAA says no football injury reports this season

Standardized injury reports will not be implemented across college football this season after the NCAA explored the possibility in response to the rise of legalized sports betting.

The NCAA’s Board of Governors announced Wednesday that it still supports the association’s rules prohibiting athletes and school administrators from wagering on sports or providing information to people associated with gambling. But the board concluded an injury or availability report across college football is not viable. An ad hoc committee on sports wagering studied the possibility of teams publicly disclosing whether players would be available for games.

“The ad hoc committee gathered thorough feedback from conference commissioners, athletics administrators, athletic trainers and student-athletes across all three divisions about potential player availability reporting,” said Ohio State President Michael Drake, who is chairman of the Board of Governors. “The membership has significant concerns about the purpose, parameters, enforcement and effectiveness of a player availability reporting model.”

The NFL uses a standardized injury report, but even calling it an injury report was problematic for the NCAA because of federal laws that safeguard student and patient privacy.

The board also encouraged more education on gambling for athletes.

A Supreme Court ruling last year opened the door for states to have legalized sports wagering. More than a dozen states have introduced legal betting on sporting events and dozens are taking steps in that direction.