TCU made headlines across the country when nearly two dozen students were arrested in a campus drug sting, many of whom were involved in the drug's distribution.
Four players on the football team were arrested and now face charges.
The Horned Frogs are far from the only ones in college football affected by marijuana use in some form. Colleague
Mark Schlabach took a look at the issue.
Here's a quick excerpt:
However, not every coach sees the benefits of a vigilant testing program, as former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said recently. "I know of a lot of schools, and I don't want to say something I shouldn't say -- but you don't have to drug-test," he says. "If you don't want your boys to be caught with drugs, don't drug-test them."
Indeed, The Magazine's survey of more than 60 schools competing in BCS conferences revealed myriad testing protocols and discipline standards for players testing positive for marijuana and other recreational drugs. One coach at an FBS school admits that when he was an assistant at a previous school, only half of the team's players were ever tested. "And they never tested the guys we knew were smoking," he says.
Not that a single failed test would necessarily jeopardize the athlete's eligibility. Athletes at schools such as Ole Miss, Purdue and UCLA don't face mandatory suspensions until they fail three tests. Fewer than 10 schools surveyed, including Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech, penalize players with mandatory suspensions from play after their first positive test.
Check out the full piece. It's a great read from ESPN The Magazine.
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