Dienhart: An in-season look at Big Ten's new medical spotter system

There was Michigan quarterback Shane Morris, wobbly ? trying to maintain balance as he leaned on a teammate during a game vs. Minnesota last year.

Morris had taken a hit. He didn?t look right. He wasn?t acting right. Yet, Morris remained in the game for one more play. He subsequently left but then inexplicably was allowed to return for another play soon thereafter before finally being pulled.

Had the Big Ten?s new Independent Medical Spotter system been in place, another individual would have been in place to potentially recognize these signs from a different vantage point, and under the system, Morris wouldn't have been allowed to stay on the field after initially being knocked woozy with what Michigan later described was a ?probable mild concussion.?

?At the end of the day, our responsibility is to make sure the students who attend our institutions are provided a safe and healthy environment in which to compete,? said Kerry Kenny, the Big Ten?s director of compliance, who also oversees the league?s health and safety issues related to concussions.

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And that environment is much better and safer today because of the Independent Medical Spotter system that was started in 2015.

The Big Ten has been looking at health and safety issues around concussions since late 2009. The conference has had a head injury research collaboration with the Ivy League that dates to 2012. Back in December, Big Ten presidents met looking for a way to further enhance the health and safety environment for student-athletes. The Independent Medical Spotter was born, as the Big Ten became the first conference to enact the policy.

The model constructed by the Big Ten is similar to the NFL?s protocol spotter system. It involves having an independent athletic trainer stationed in the replay booth in the press box. The goal: to serve as a third layer of support to help identify signs and symptoms of potential head injury during the course of a game.

The first two layers of protection for players are: 1.) The medical staffs for both teams; 2.) The officiating crew, which is educated on how to recognize signs and symptoms of head injuries. The Independent Medical Spotter in the booth assists both of those entities to maintain a safe and healthy environment. The SEC is the only other conference with such a system.

?We are fortunate to have some of the best, most effective medical and athletic training staffs in the country,? Kenny said, ?and this policy has been an added layer that is intended to help support their normal game day responsibilities.?

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HOW IT WORKS

If during the course of a game, the Independent Medical Spotter (IMS) has clear, reasonable visual evidence that a player displays obvious signs of possible head injury, disorientation or is clearly unstable, and it becomes apparent that the player will remain in the game and the signs have not been recognized by the school?s medical or athletic training staff and the on-field officiating crew, then the IMS can intervene.

The IMS will alert the replay official to stop the game for medical purposes. The process is the same as it is when the replay booth stops games to review plays. After the replay official has communicated to the referee that play was stopped due to medical reasons, the referee shall make an announcement to that effect.

Once the game has been stopped, with one exception, the current NCAA playing rules for an injured player would take effect, just as for any other injury. The exception is that there would be no 10-second runoff should the injury take place during the last minute of a half.

In addition, the IMS has a medical replay system that provides them with multiple views of each play, allowing them the opportunity to go back and watch a play in real speed or slow motion if the need arises.

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THE RESULTS SO FAR

According to Kenny, through 42 non-conference games and 20 conference home games over seven weeks in 2015, the Independent Medical Spotter has not had to initiate a stoppage.

?We have learned a lot through the first part of the season,? Kenny said. ?The medical staffs from the schools can call up and have the spotter see how a player got hit ? by a helmet, the ground. ? The spotter provides them with real-time information to help in their sideline assessments. That has been helpful from anecdotal feedback I have been able to collect from some of our medical staffs.?

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WHO ARE THE SPOTTERS?

They typically are male or female certified athletic trainers-active or retired from the high school or college level-that are licensed in the state in which they are serving. They also have experience working with football, including one who helps the NFL with its spotter program. The league has a primary spotter at each school with a secondary spotter available to hire if a substitute is needed.

?The commitment and level of professionalism that the spotters have displayed, along with the feedback that they have provided on a weekly basis, has allowed the program to show continuous growth and improvement,? Kenny said.

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THE FUTURE

This is experimental. In fact, in order for the medical spotter system to be put in place, the Big Ten and SEC had to get an experimental rule passed by the NCAA to allow play to be stopped for medical reasons. Officials always could stop play for injuries. But for someone not on the officiating crew to stop play, an experimental rule had to be passed.

Kenny says the league will assess the impact and effectiveness of the medical spotter system at the end of the season and will work with other conferences to decide how it should be continued since this is an experimental rule from an NCAA perspective.

?From a Big Ten perspective, the seven weeks of data we have been able to collect from spotters, medical staffs and officials, we have heard positive feedback,? Kenny said. ?With the fog of competition that can exist on a football sideline, there is now a dedicated person at all our venues to provide an additional layer of support in these situations.

?Although we are only half-way through the first season of the policy, our commitment to this issue is long term. The spotter has the chance to become a very effective tool for our medical staffs to increase player safety as the program continues to evolve.?

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