Crisis at 6am

It's July 22nd at 6 AM. Your phone rings. A student athlete collapsed at voluntary conditioning.

Protocol rehearsal.

 The athletic trainer says her EAP (Emergency Action Plan) wasn't rehearsed in 17 months. The strength coach says conditioning data wasn't monitored. The mental health counselor says the athlete never had access to her services.  Full medical history was not yet received from the previous institution for this transfer.

Fast forward to the investigation, media coverage, and the parents' lawyer:

·       Did your department have policies requiring monitored conditioning sessions?

·       Does your organizational chart show clear reporting authority?

·       What were your ethics standards for staff?

·       During Onboarding, was the student athlete empowered to challenge the session?

·       Did you ensure student-athletes had equitable access to healthcare resources?

How you answer determines whether your institution is exemplary or in breach.

Athletic departments face increasing NCAA mandates requiring rigorous policy compliance to ensure athlete safety, mental health support, data governance, and ethical staff conduct. A policy audit is essential to identify gaps between written policies and actual practice, helping departments mitigate risks and foster trust.  Here are five thought-starters:

Shrink the Gaps: Research shows widespread gaps where policies exist but are poorly executed, including medical organization chart, emergency action plans rarely rehearsed and mental health services survey implementation.

Share the Sugar: Vertical communication! Athletic departments must have written documentation of verbal onboarding, mandatory staff training, clear authority structure, disciplinary processes, and attestation of stakeholder acknowledgment.

Measure Twice, Cut Once: NCAA guidance requires a Wearable Technology governance committee including athlete input, informed consent, role-based data access, and harm assessments to prevent misuse of biometric data for punitive measures or invasive surveillance.

Feed the Fundamentals: Immediate focus should be on organizational chart (strength and medical reporting), EAP rehearsal, data governance, mental health services, and ethics training.

Cost of Action vs. Inaction: Investing in audits and remediation reduces regulatory risk, litigation costs, and reputational damage, while fostering athlete trust and staff clarity compared to costly crisis management without audits.