Ivies Limit Full-Contact Football Practices

The new Ivy League policy goes well beyond NCAA guidelines.

The Ivy League has decided to limit the number of full-contact football practices that teams can have in an effort to reduce the chance of head injuries to players, according to a New York Times report. A study published last year indicates that players receive more hits to the head in practices than in games. (Practices, of course, consume far more of players' active time on the field than games do.)  The new Ivy policy goes well beyond the NCAA's guidelines on the subject, and is quite possibly the most stringent of any conference.  

For additional background, read the 2010 article "Hits, Heads, Helmets" from the Harvard Magazine archives; it explores some of the issues in football-related concussions and describes a new helmet designed to mitigate them. 

Related topics

You might also like

What Does the $2.8B NCAA Settlement Mean for Harvard?

Athlete-payment case will change little for Ivy League athletes.

On the Margins

Filmmaker John Armstrong’s “outdoor adventures” find the human spirit.

Pony Plunges

Scrapbooking a woman who rode horses into the sea

Most popular

International Scholars and Students Targeted—Again

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces fresh investigation into Harvard’s participation in the Exchange Visitor Program.

The Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

FAS Dean Outlines Preparations for Loss of Federal Funding

“To preserve our mission, we must act now,” Hoekstra says at faculty meeting

Explore More From Current Issue

How Harvard Students Handle Political Disagreements

The Undergraduate asks if intellectualism is really on life support.

Filmmaker John Armstrong’s Adventure Documentaries

Filmmaker John Armstrong’s “outdoor adventures” find the human spirit.

The Woman Who Rode Horses Into the Water

Scrapbooking a woman who rode horses into the sea