The Southern Conference has announced it will participate in myPlaybook, a pilot program designed by Elon alumnus David Wyrick to prevent alcohol and other drug-related abuse among student-athletes. It will be the first time the program is implemented throughout a Division I conference.
The program is a joint venture between the Southern Conference, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Center for Drug Free Sport, the UNC Greensboro Department of Public Health Education and Prevention Strategies, LLC.
myPlaybook will target incoming freshman student-athletes in the league for fall 2009. A web-based course, it will feature pre- and post-test surveys to measure student success, immediate student feedback and tools to track student progress.
Developed by Wyrick, a 1994 Elon graduate and a professor at UNC-Greensboro, the myPlaybook program includes interactive learning exercises and detailed information, specific to student-athletes, on the effects of alcohol and marijuana use. The program also includes education on the NCAA’s drug testing policies and information on the NCAA’s banned substances.
“I’m very pleased the Southern Conference has committed to participate in the myPlaybook pilot program,” Wyrick says. “The conference-wide approach provides us with an excellent opportunity to investigate issues critical to program effectiveness, implementation, and other influential factors such as the role of drug testing.”
More than 2,500 student-athletes from 60 Division II conferences took part in the program last fall. After completing myPlaybook, student-athletes improved their knowledge of NCAA drug testing procedures and banned substances, and had fewer negative experiences with alcohol.
“Our membership believes in this project and committed to it on a conference-wide basis at our league meetings in May,” says Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. “We are looking forward to working with Dr. Wyrick to better educate our freshman student-athletes on the dangers and risks of alcohol and drug abuse.”
Funding for the program will come from the NCAA, National Center for Drug Free Sport and the Southern Conference.