Don't forget the players' health in college football playoff talks

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Congrats to the BCS commissioners. They have undoubtedly helped college football by reaching a consensus on a four-team playoff model.

Now what about the players?

How will this new playoff money help the people actually sacrificing their bodies each fall Saturday to entertain us?

The National College Players Association is working on a proposal focused on head trauma that could be rolled out as soon as next week, when the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee meets. The goal: Make sure a playoff and minimizing health risks become joined at the hip.

Jon Solomon is a columnist for The Birmingham News. Join him for live web chats on college sports on Wednesdays at 2 p.m.

"Nobody has ever asked what the players think should be done," said NCPA President Ramogi Huma, a former UCLA football player. "It's their health. We're talking about additional games for some of the best teams in the nation. That's additional risk."

A decade ago, many teams could win the national championship by playing 12 games. With a playoff, becoming national champ will climb to 15 games for most teams, a 25-percent increase.

Among the topics the NCPA's proposal will address is how much year-round contact there should be. Bowl practices are already treated as strenuously as spring football, said Huma, who worries playoffs will take that up another notch.

The NFL put new limits in place last season: 14 practices in full pads during the regular season (11 of which must occur in the first 11 weeks) and reducing offseason team programs from 14 weeks to nine. The players union hopes to reduce exposure to practice-field blows to the head by 20 to 25 percent.

The Ivy League recently started limiting full-contact football practices to twice a week, a 60 percent reduction from NCAA rules.

"You can still have a great sport with less contact," said Huma, whose NCPA players council includes current or former football players at Arizona, UCLA, Kentucky, Georgia, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Purdue. "This is why the players need a voice. It's embarrassing and unacceptable that conference commissioners and presidents aren't discussing guaranteed health care for sports-related injuries."

The SEC recently announced plans to study concussions in all sports. The Big Ten will collaborate with the Ivy League to evaluate head trauma among athletes when they arrive on campus, during their playing careers and after they're finished playing.

There's no data yet on the potential long-term health risks for college players who suffer concussions yet never reach the NFL. That makes it difficult for the NCPA to propose a specific dollar amount earmarked from playoff money toward players' health.

"Just because the revenue might not be enough to cover a nation of former football players doesn't mean there shouldn't be an effort to meet a small demand," Huma said. "At the very least, there should be a support system for players if they exhibit symptoms like depression or memory loss so they can be assessed."

Huma points to the 2010 suicide of Penn football player Owen Thomas. Thomas' brain tissue showed early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to depression and impulse control that has been found among NFL players.

Boston University researchers cautioned that Thomas' suicide shouldn't be attributed solely or primarily to his brain damage, given the frequency of suicide among college students in general. But they raised the possibility that it played a role in his death, meaning CTE in football players could develop as early as college.

Huma doesn't expect perfection in these conference studies, just effort. However, he is concerned whether players can trust what universities produce from their research.

Until 2009, the NFL and its committee on concussions consistently minimized evidence testifying to the risks of repeated brain trauma in NFL players. Universities are equipped to do great research, but could face similar conflicts of interest.

"If it were to be found that colleges are sponsoring sports that put participants at significant long-term health risks, would the schools view that as a liability or take steps to minimize it?" Huma asked. "There might be an opportunity for third-party oversight from people doing great work in this area, like the Boston researchers."

Talks will heat up soon on how to distribute an awful lot of playoff money. Now's the time for college football to remember the players.

Write Jon at jsolomon@bhamnews.com. Follow him at twitter.com/jonsol.

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