Brittany Kmush (PH) PI, Shane Sanders (SPM) co-I, Bhavneet Walia (PH) co-I
2018-2019 Falk Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Seed Grant Award
The present research seeks to analyze and estimate a salient concussion risk factor for NCAA FBS football players. The results of this study have the potential to inform NCAA student-athlete concussion policy.
College gridiron play features student-athletes who are faster, larger, and stronger, on average than their high school counterparts. While learning this new level of play as freshmen and sophomores, players may be at increased risk of concussion due to increased incidence of improper positioning and lower average strength, ceteris paribus. We aim to model concussion risk over the NCAA career of FBS athletes, controlling for position-of-play, number of games played, height, weight, and other factors. We hypothesize that early career NCAA football players are at greater risk of concussion.
This research has the potential to inform and drive NCAA policy change toward the betterment of the health of tens of thousands of student-athletes. The results generated can also directly inform parents and young athletes as they consider the risk factors associated with college football participation.