Brown University Athletic Department Drug and Alcohol Policy

Brown University Department Alcohol Policy
The following Departmental Alcohol Policy has been in existence since 1990 and is enforced by the Athletic Department:

The Athletic Department expects student-athletes to conform to university policy on drug and alcohol use and to be subject to university sanctions. Student-athletes are expected to abide by this policy as representatives of Brown University.  The Department does not permit use of alcohol or drugs by athletes, managers, trainers, coaches, or other staff when they are engaged in activities relating to their athletic roles: practices, contests, team trips, team meetings, all receptions including those sponsored by friends’ groups or parents, banquets, locker room activities.  Athletes who use alcohol or drugs in contravention to this policy risk suspension from the team by the Athletic Department.  Many Brown teams have stricter but informal rules about alcohol and drug use.  The Director of Athletics must approve any exception to this policy.

NCAA Drug Testing
The NCAA drug-testing program was created to safeguard the health and safety of participants, and to ensure that no participant has an artificially induced advantage, or be pressured to use chemical substances in order to remain competitive. The misuse and/or abuse of drugs or chemicals endangers the safety and health of all student-athletes and are inconsistent with the educational atmosphere that should prevail in intercollegiate athletic programs. The drug testing program includes urine collection at NCAA championship events and laboratory analysis for evidence of banned substances on the NCAA Banned Drug List (PDF).  The NCAA list of banned-drug classes is subject to change by the NCAA Executive Committee and is available at www.ncaa.org/health-safety.

The NCAA conducts on campus drug testing in the sport of football. One or two additional sports, randomly selected by the NCAA annually, will also be drug tested. The testing agency will come on campus two or three times per year and randomly select athletes to be drug tested. In addition, the NCAA has instituted summer drug testing and randomly selected athletes are tested in the locale of their residence, whether they are on or off campus. If a student-athlete is selected for drug testing, he or she will be notified by their athletic trainer.

Russell Fiore, Head Athletic Trainer, has been appointed as the Brown Department of Athletics resource person for banned drugs and nutritional supplements. He has a list of all banned drugs and will be able to advise student-athletes who take prescription drugs on those particular regulations. He can be reached at 401-863-3851.

Testing Policies
Prior to participation in intercollegiate competition, student-athletes must sign the NCAA Drug Testing Consent Form through the student-athlete eligibility paperwork website. Failure to sign this form renders student-athletes ineligible for participation in intercollegiate competition. 

Failure to report for a test carries the same penalty as testing positive.

Students who fail a drug test shall lose their eligibility for one full season of competition in all sports. The student-athlete shall remain ineligible for one full year including all regular and post-season play. The student-athlete shall remain ineligible until he/she tests negative. The NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee must restore the student-athlete’s eligibility. If a student-athlete tests positive again after having their eligibility restored, he/she shall lose all remaining regular season and post-season eligibility in all sports.

Nutritional Supplements
All nutritional supplements carry some risk of containing an NCAA banned substance because they're not well regulated and may be contaminated. You are responsible for what you put into your body. Failure to inquire with your Athletic Trainer prior to supplement use could result in a failed appeal for a positive drug test. For information regarding nutritional supplements, please visit the National Center for Drug Free Sport Resource Exchange Center (REC) website.