NCAA policy chair backs health care for injured players after careers

INDIANAPOLIS -- The chairman of NCAA Division I’s top policy-making group says he would like to see the association’s wealthiest conferences consider following the Pac-12 in providing health-care coverage for all athletes after they have finished their college careers.

“There’s no doubt that safety is maybe the issue of the day,” said Division I Board of Directors chair Harris Pastides, who is president of the University of South Carolina. “We recruit young people to come and play for us and injury is part of (playing college sports). So if we shake hands and make a pact and recruit them and pay for their education either in whole or in part and something goes wrong in executing that, I think we need to stick with them.”

Ohio State president Michael Drake joined Pastides in this view, saying: “It’s a complicated issue ... but it’s certainly something that I’d like for us to be able to discuss and would think upon very favorably.”

In a move the Pac-12 first announced in October 2014, its schools this year changed the conference’s bylaws so that beginning in August, each school became required to provide “comprehensive health and medical expenses to enrolled student-athletes for injuries incurred through their participation in intercollegiate athletics.”

In addition, effective for injuries suffered during the 2015-16 academic year and thereafter, the schools now must make available post-college medical expenses that “directly relate to an injury suffered by the student-athlete through his or her participation in intercollegiate athletics at the institution.” They must do this for four years after the athlete’s graduation or separation from the school, or until the athlete turns 26 – whichever comes first.

The method for accomplishing this is up to each school.

Post-college-career medical coverage has been discussed by numerous advocates for improved benefits for athletes. It also has been raised in legislation concerning college sports that is pending in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The NCAA’s governance structure allows the Pac-12, the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences greater autonomy in rules making.

“I personally hope that the autonomy grouping that links the five conferences together would have made these conversations more universal among the five conferences, as opposed to conferences coming out and saying, ‘We’re going to do this’,” Pastides said.

Nevertheless, considering the Pac-12’s insurance idea “makes sense,” he said. “I think the general public would understand that and would applaud that, and I think it happens at some level now. I think, however, it happens in a more ad-hoc manner. We all hear about the individual cases that didn’t go that way. … There are always egregious cases where people are suffering physically from something that happened, so, yeah, I’m in favor of that.”

Editor’s note: The reporter of this story served as moderator for a meeting session Drake also participated in. He was interviewed for this story afterward.