Procedure. Student-athletes are asked to sign an “Informed Consent” waiver giving the West Virginia University Athletic Department permission to test. The contracted laboratory collects the urine samples for analysis. 

Randomization and team testing will be done throughout the year. Official team rosters are procured from the WVU Athletic Department Compliance Office and are used to compose a list of student-athletes eligible to be randomly selected by computer for the test. This computerized list will be generated at various times throughout the semester.

Failure to appear at the testing site will be treated as a positive result. If a student-athlete is unable to produce a specimen or produces an insufficient volume for testing, he/she will be instructed to drink eight ounces of fluid every fifteen minutes for the remainder of the testing period. If, after this time, an adequate specimen still has not been produced, the student-athlete will be required to produce an acceptable sample at a designated laboratory site by the end of the business day. Failure to do so will be treated as a positive result. Any attempt to alter the integrity or validity of the urine specimen and/or collection process will be treated as a positive result. Those athletes who have dilute urine specimens will be re-tested at the next scheduled testing session. If they produce a second dilute, the respective head coach will notified; they will then have a surprise test soon thereafter. If the surprise test is dilute, the results of that test will be considered valid. If the student-athlete who had a previous positive result produces a dilute specimen, they will be subject to a surprise test.

Identification of those participating in the urinalysis and the results will be strictly confidential. The testing service will notify the appropriate member of the Athletic Drug Advisory Committee of all results. That person will be the only person capable of matching test results with individual identification numbers and will in turn notify individuals of their results.

Results

NEGATIVE RESULTS:
In accordance with the purpose of this program, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, to begin with, will assume that all student-athletes will test negative to the controlled substances listed. There will be no maximum number of times each student-athlete may be tested during their careers at WVU. If a student-athlete does have a positive urine test, then he/she will be placed on an active list and then may be randomly tested for the remainder of their career at WVU.

POSITIVE RESULTS:
First Violation. If an individual’s sample tests positively, the contracted laboratory will retest the sample immediately to assure there is no error in the result. If a positive result is verified and confirmed, an Athletic Drug Advisory Committee member will be notified by the laboratory and in turn, the committee member will notify the student-athlete who tested positive by letter. The student-athlete will be directed to arrange a meeting with his/her head coach and supervising athletic trainer within three (3) days. At this meeting, the student-athlete in the presence of these individuals, will telephone his/her parents and advise them of the results. In addition, copies of this letter will be sent to the Athletic Director, the Head Coach, the supervising athletic trainer, and a representative from the WVU Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. The student-athlete is expected to make an appointment to be seen in the Carruth Center within one week for an evaluation of alcohol or other substance abuse or dependence.

The student-athlete will be suspended from participation in team practices, games, and activities, including team meetings and pre-event meals, until he/she has a subsequent NEGATIVE drug screen as monitored by the Carruth Center. The student-athlete will continue participation with the Carruth Center until he/she is released by this service. Failure to comply or refusal to participate with the counseling program set forth above, will result in immediate disqualification from all athletic participation until the above guidelines are met.

Second Violation. If an individual’s sample tests positively, the contracted laboratory will retest the sample immediately to assure there is no error in the result. If a positive result is verified and confirmed, an Athletic Drug Advisory Committee member will be notified by the laboratory and in turn, the committee member will notify the student-athlete who tested positive by letter. The student-athlete will be directed to arrange a meeting with his/her head coach, supervising athletic trainer, and the Athletic Director within three (3) days. At this meeting, the student-athlete in the presence of these individuals, will telephone his/her parents and advise them of the results. In addition, copies of this letter will be sent to the Athletic Director, the head coach, the supervising athletic trainer, and a representative from the WVU Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. The student-athlete is expected to make an appointment to be seen in the Carruth Center within one week for an evaluation of alcohol or other substance abuse or dependence.

The student-athlete will be suspended from participation in team practices, games, and activities, including team meetings and pre-event meals, until he/she has a subsequent NEGATIVE drug screen as monitored by the Carruth Center. The suspension will also include a time period of 10% of the team’s season competition schedule including postseason events. In computing the 10% penalty, .50 is rounded down, and .51 is rounded up. The suspension will also include no traveling either to home or away events during this period. The suspension will begin immediately upon the student’s notification of positive results. If a team completes its competition schedule while a student-athlete is under the above suspension, the student’s participation suspension will carry over into the following year’s (next season’s) competition.

The student-athlete is required to comply with the minimal guidelines set forth above. Failure to do so will result in immediate disqualification from all athletic participation and removal of all department-provided financial support for the remainder of the student-athlete’s career. The student-athlete’s head coach may impose additional penalties beyond these guidelines subject to the approval of the Director of Athletics.

Third Violation. The individual’s sample will be retested immediately to assure no error has occurred. If the positive result is verified and confirmed, the Athletic Drug Advisory Committee member will notify the student-athlete testing positive by letter to arrange an appointment with the Head Coach, Director of Athletics, Team Physician, and supervising athletic trainer. At this meeting the Director of Athletics will notify the student-athlete’s parents and advise them that the student-athlete will be removed from all further athletic participation and all athletic provided financial aid will be withdrawn for the remainder of the athlete’s career. The student-athlete will also be referred for appropriate rehabilitation.

Effect of Negative Results in Retesting to Confirm Positive Test Result. When the result of any retest for confirmation of a positive test is negative, it shall be assumed the immediately prior positive result was in error, and that prior test shall be treated as no violation. Any conviction of an alcohol and/or drug related incident, including in the dormitories or any court of law, will be considered a first violation of the West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Drug Screening Policy and Substance Abuse Program. Any subsequent incidents will be considered a second and/or third violation as outlined in the above mentioned policy. Reasonable suspicion, notification from the police or safety officials, violation of team rules, and/or concerns from the Athletic Director or athletic administration and coaches will result in a referral to the Carruth Center without counting as a first violation. Failure to comply with the Carruth Center and/or the referral will result in a first violation. Any subsequent incidents will be referred to the Carruth Center too; failure to comply with the Carruth Center and/or the referrals will be considered a second and/or third violation as outlined in the above mentioned policy.

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