New "spearing" rule for college football

A large number of serious spinal and head traumas, coupled with a lack of penalty-calling by referees, has resulted in tougher restrictions concerning the use of helmets in NCAA games.

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association's 2005 Football Rules and Interpretations: "No player shall use his helmet (including the face mask) to butt or ram an opponent or attempt to punish him. There shall be no spearing. No player shall strike a runner with the crown or the top of his helmet...."

"The spearing [regulations] were revised to help prevent head and neck injuries," says Ron Courson, director of Sports Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, who headed the 32-member task force that helped bring about the rule change. The task force was composed of physicians, athletic trainers, coaches, researchers, football officials, and administrators from the NCAA, National Athletic Trainers' Association, Dallas, and other governing bodies.

"We want players to be aware of the dangers of head-down contact and spearing, which can cause catastrophic cervical spine and head injuries," cautions Courson, who also chairs NATA's College/University Athletic Trainers' Committee. "Each time a player initiates contact with his head down, he risks quadriplegia. Each time a player initiates contact head first, he increases the risk of concussion."

Since 1984, there have been 94 cerebral injuries with incomplete recovery, reports the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, Chapel Hill, N.C. In 2004, five football players died as a result of their injuries, four from helmet-to-helmet contact. One high-profile case that raised widespread awareness last season involved Drew Hixon, a wide receiver from Tennessee Tech University, who received a violent helmet blow from an opposing defensive back, resulting in severe closed head trauma. Hixon was in a coma following the contact and continues to undergo rehabilitation today.

At the time, it occurred to Courson that he never had seen a spearing penalty called during his tenure as an athletic trainer in the Southeastern Conference. He discovered that other colleagues had similar experiences. "In the past, few penalties had been called because the previous NCAA spearing rule left it to the officials to determine if a player intentionally used his helmet to injure," Courson points out. "Our task force conducted a survey of college football officials from multiple conferences and found that officials were hesitant to call the foul in some cases because intent is difficult to determine."

This season, a new NCAA poster will hang in every locker room across the country, reminding players of the dangers of spearing. "The idea is to provide a daily visual reminder on safe technique and injury prevention. We are committed to a formal education program on the rule change and are confident that this kind of outreach can ultimately help reduce risk of catastrophic injury," suggests David Klossner, assistant director of the NCAA's Education Outreach initiative.

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