Steroids in College Football

[Next Year]

The use of anabolic steroids in professional athletes has been a concern for a long time; however, the rise in use by younger athletes is especially troubling. Physician-guided education is vital to the creation of an effective intervention program.

As athletic competition continues to intensify, athletes strive to higher levels of performance to achieve success. There appears to be a “win at all costs” mentality, not only among many of today’s athletes, but also among their coaches and parents. It is this same mentality that fuels many athletes to seek performance-enhancing substances such as anabolic steroids and other drugs. However, no longer is this just a problem of the elite athlete; today, the perception that anabolic steroids correlate with athletic success can be found among collegiate and scholastic athletes as well.

WASHINGTON -- With steroids easy to buy, testing weak and punishments inconsistent, college football players are packing on significant weight -- 30 pounds or more in a single year, sometimes -- without drawing much attention from their schools or the NCAA in a sport that earns tens of billions of dollars for teams.

Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid policy can face a team whose players have repeatedly tested positive.

An

The sport's near-zero rate of positive steroids tests isn't an accurate gauge among college athletes.

Random tests provide weak deterrence and, by design, fail to catch every player using steroids.

Colleges also are reluctant to spend money on expensive steroid testing when cheaper ones for drugs like marijuana allow them to say they're doing everything they can to keep drugs out of football.

"It's nothing like what's going on in reality," said Don Catlin, an anti-doping pioneer who spent years conducting the NCAA's laboratory tests at UCLA. He became so frustrated with the college system that it drove him in part to leave the testing industry to focus on anti-doping research.
Catlin said the collegiate system, in which players often are notified days before a test and many schools don't even test for steroids, is designed to not catch dopers. That artificially reduces the numbers of positive tests and keeps schools safe from embarrassing drug scandals.

While other major sports have been beset by revelations of steroid use, college football has operated with barely a whiff of scandal. Between 1996 and 2010 -- the era of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Marion Jones and Lance Armstrong -- the failure rate for NCAA steroid tests fell even closer to zero from an already low rate of less than 1 percent.

The AP's analysis found that, regardless of school, conference and won-loss record, many players gained weight at exceptional rates compared with their fellow athletes and while accounting for their heights. The documented weight gains could not be explained by the amount of money schools spent on weight rooms, trainers and other football expenses.


Adding more than 20 or 25 pounds of lean muscle in a year is nearly impossible through diet and exercise alone, said Dan Benardot, director of the Laboratory for Elite Athlete Performance at Georgia State University.

I do not know how many college football players test positive for steroids every year.

I do not hear about it that often.

Colleges likely keep that type of information as much under wraps as possible.

Or maybe the numbers don't lie.

What say you?

[Tolley]

You know, as naive as this may sound, I never really thought about college athletes using steroids until now.
I'm sure some do, I just hope it's a small percentage.

[imabeastonu]

the term "steroids" has alot of grey areas. You can buy supplements/prohormones at GNC or vitamin world that would make you fail certain steroid tests. Its all stupid. personally... im all about keeping these guys safe. Certain steroids shorten healing time among other things. Steroids are not bad for you if taken properly and in moderation. NFL needs steroids, controlled though

[treys1986]

I say we probably don't want to know. Jot just as Gamecocks fans but fans of any team.

[Next Year]

Originally Posted by Tolley

You know, as naive as this may sound, I never really thought about college athletes using steroids until now.
I'm sure some do, I just hope it's a small percentage.

I guess I am in the same boat as you.

I never had cause to really take it serious.

Even with the massive gains of college athletes from one year to the next, we all see the crazy-tough workouts these guys engage in all offseason long and we now that they have state-of-the art facilities and athletic training coordinators and strength conditioners that are some of the best of the best.

[sc455]

We should take seriously since usc is the poster program for steroids run amok.

[Next Year]

Originally Posted by sc455

We should take seriously since usc is the poster program for steroids run amok.

You are talking about the late 1980s?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...16/1/index.htm

I was sitting in my room at the roost, the athletic dorm at the University of South Carolina, with the barrel of a loaded .357 Magnum pressed under my chin. A .357 is a man's gun, and I knew what it would do to me. My finger twitched on the trigger.
I was in bad shape, very bad shape. From the steroids. It had all come down from the steroids, the crap I'd taken to get big and strong and aggressive so I could play this game that I love.
I felt as though I were sitting next to my body, watching myself, and yet I was in my body, too. I was trying to get up that final bit of courage to end it all. Every nerve inside me was on fire. My mind was racing. I couldn't get a grip on anything. The anxiety attacks I'd been having for the last five months had become so intense that I couldn't stand them anymore. I'd lost control of everything—it's impossible to describe the horror I felt, the fear, the anxiety over that loss of control.
I could hear my teammates outside my room. They were walking back and forth, listening at the door. They talked in low voices, and they sounded very concerned. Every now and then someone would try opening the door, but I'd locked it.

"Tommy," someone would say quietly. "You O.K.?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." I was definitely going crazy, but not in a wild way. I answered in a very calm voice. I knew I was history—it was just a matter of time. I thought about the explosion and the bullet, about how it could take away this pain.
And then I heard my father's voice. He was banging on the door. "Tommy, open up!" he said.

[JohnnyB21]

Nobody at USC uses steroids, they just have Clowney donate blood to each player.

[Flameout12]

Originally Posted by imabeastonu

the term "steroids" has alot of grey areas....

Very gray and there are multiple supplements that may or may not be what we consider "steroids" while some of the traditional steriods from years ago still float around some.
Not sure where this article originated, but the author is uninformed...it's much more convoluted than just "steroids"....especially when they sell "steroids" at Walmart:
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Amerifit-N...t-50-ct/893278

[Next Year]

Why now, too?

[USCgamecocks]

Athletes develop the problems that cause issues in the pros while in college, Steroids included. The NFL has to deal with the problems while the NCAA gets the pass.

[DA954BADBOY]

Nick Saban. Thats all.

[CockLurker]

I read about a study somewhere (maybe it was on this board?? But I don't think so) that concluded that 5% of high schoolers have experimented with steroids.

That's not 5% of high school football players, that's 5% of high schoolers period. Now how many of those guys even play football? And it only makes sense that the ones that use PEDs will be the ones to excel and even make it to college athletics in the first place.

Then let's get to the BCS level where the stakes are higher and steroids are even easier to come by...we're already looking at a huge percentage of players that basically have to be using.

THEN you get to the pro level (lol) where only the best of the best (read: "enhanced" athletes even get a shot, the stakes are infinitely higher yet, and players have all the money and access to drugs in the world...

This was just my thoughts after hearing that 5% number - basically says to me that if you have a favorite athlete that excels in a given sport...he's on steorids. Period. And to me that's not necessarily a bad thing, as it's really just an equalizer now and people want the excitement it provides even if they won't admit it (nobody wants to see 20 homers being the most in a baseball season).

[cockybusiness2]

Man, back in the day we had a problem... Have noy heard anything until I heard about this study on a national sports program. I want USC to win as much as anyone... But not at the cost that steroids would bring

[CockLurker]

Originally Posted by cockybusiness2

Man, back in the day we had a problem... Have noy heard anything until I heard about this study on a national sports program. I want USC to win as much as anyone... But not at the cost that steroids would bring

What cost is that

[Rh Gamecock]

Haven't seen any players on our team gain 25-30lbs in a year and i dont see many college athletes doing the same... Jadeveon the one clemson fans like to say is on steroids was 246 in high school at 6-7 which is a good natural weight for someone that tall that works out. He is now at the end of his sophmore year and only 256-260 so hes gained 10 pounds in 2 years and most likely reshaped his body.

Seriously very uninformed article. Who's the last college player you have seen gain 25-30 pounds of muscle in a year? You could gain the weight eating a lot and eating very unhealthy for that same amount of time but it def wont be muscle

[Schecter]

I think every linebacker to ever come out of so cal did roids.

[GamecockSuperFan]

If highschool baseball players are doing it I can't help but think college football players could be to but I dont know

[GamecockSuperFan]

Originally Posted by Schecter

I think every linebacker to ever come out of so cal did roids.

I don't think Brian Cushing did though....

[GarnetBlack&Blue]

WHO IN THE WORLD HAS GAINED 20-25 LBS. OF LEAN MUSCLES IN A YEAR?? Seriously... who is he talking about? People would totally notice that... I want to see the actual study...

If they are talking about people burning fat AND putting on muscle (ie. losing 10 lbs. of fat and gaining 20 lbs. of muscle, for a net gain of 10 lbs.) then that is a different story, and adding 20 lbs. of muscle is well within reason... hell, people on the biggest loser gain 10-15 lbs. of muscle in much less than a year, and they aren't even TRYING to bulk up...

steroids may very well be a problem in college sports (and probably is), but the "evidence" in this article is terrible...