(01-10-2020 02:05 PM)Hammersmith Wrote:  

(01-09-2020 07:09 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  

(01-08-2020 07:45 PM)Hammersmith Wrote:  And to answer a different question that popped up in this thread, the NCAA uses a third-party to randomly test 18 players from each team either just before or just after every playoff game. That means both of our teams have each been tested 54 times so far with 18 tests left to go.

Is there a source for the 18 players for every playoff game? My memory fails me plenty of times but I'm like 99% sure that wasn't the case a handful of years ago.

I'm trying to find it, but not having any luck at the moment. I'm pretty sure it was in one of the FCS playoffs/championship handbooks. This year's books just have a vague "we can test you at any time" warning.

It came up a year ago because of the one player from the Bison that failed a test in the semis and lost his entire senior season(would have been this current season). The school and the family never said exactly which substance he tested positive for, but both said it was a stimulant and not an illicit, steroid, or HGH type drug.

The player's mom(a former NDSU WBB player from our DII championship years) was very upset and went to the media, claiming the substance was introduced by an NDSU staff member and was being used by many in the locker room. A former player hinted that the guy in question was a motivational coach hired by our then head coach. The guy is also a rep for a company that makes pre-workout supplements that contain caffeine.

We also looked into things and caffeine is one of the NCAA banned substances if you use it at high enough levels(equivalent of consuming a full six-pack of 20oz Mountain Dews within two or three hours). In this case, it would take a double dose of the supplement to get you into the testing danger range. We think several players do take this supplement or another like it, but everyone else was using it according to the directions. We found the testing requirements because we wanted to point out to those rivals attacking us back then that there was no way there could be widespread use of a normal banned substance like steroids considering how much the Bison have been tested over the last decade.

About 4 yrs ago, I recall reading a news article that may have contained some of this NDSU stuff. It was related to an athlete (I think track) that lost his scolly because he was taking ADHD meds, prescribed by a doctor and a supplement had caused a reaction so he was testing positive for some drug that he never took.