Big 12 coaches talk standardized injury reports, say it has to be a national effort
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In their annual spring meetings Tuesday, Big 12 football coaches discussed the possibility of a standardized injury report. But it seems like a long shot unless it's implemented on a national level.
Texas coach Tom Herman characterized the conversation as “very preliminary,” saying Big 12 officials asked for the coaches’ input. They apparently got a wide variety of opinions, which isn’t surprising; Big 12 coaches’ philosophies on reporting injuries have traditionally ranged from giving limited information to giving essentially none.
The conversation is spurred in large part by a Supreme Court decision last year allowing states to legalize sports betting. Eight states now have some form of it; others are expected to follow. Although NFL has long had a standardized injury report, college football never has. It's unclear what it would look like.
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The American Football Coaches Association has explored the idea — and it would likely take a national effort to get coaches on board. Baylor coach Matt Rhule suggested a standardized injury report might have to be “a grander college football, AFCA, conference commissioner (effort).” Big 12 coaches’ current approaches to providing injury information is shared by most of their peers in other conferences. "It's probably time for us to have some national guidelines in regard to that," AFCA executive director Todd Berry said, adding: "I'm concerned without having some kind of national consistency, we're maybe doing ourselves a disservice."
“As coaches we’re probably always wired to not give away game plan stuff,” Rhule said. “We try to do the right thing for our kids. It has to be a bigger conversation.”
Berry and Rhule noted that unlike professional leagues, colleges would have to navigate federal student privacy law, which would limit how much information could be provided. They'd also have to find agreement on a topic that has no current standard.
“What we do is different than them,” Herman said, indicating Rhule, who was standing nearby. “I just want it to be unified. That’s all.”
And that goes for the Big 12 coaches and their counterparts in other leagues, as well.
“I think everybody would have to be on the same page in terms of having it unified,” Herman said.
Follow Paste BN Sports' George Schroeder on Twitter @GeorgeSchroeder.