AUSTIN -- Texas officials said Monday that student athletes
at the school were not put at risk by taking nutritional
supplements provided by the athletic department and that it did not
disregard orders from the NCAA.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Sunday that nearly
$120,000 in dietary supplements that are not permitted for
distribution by schools were purchased by athletic departments at
Texas and Texas A&M.
Between fall 2000 and spring 2004, the programs purchased 21
products containing certain muscle-building ingredients.
Texas released correspondence it believes shows NCAA officials
had signed off on the supplements before they were distributed to
athletes.
"The University of Texas operates a broad-based, world-class
athletics department with 20 sports and some 700 student
athletes," Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement.
"We are concerned that these elite athletes are cared for in the
right way. We have a history of being a leader in health care
delivery."
David Batson, Texas A&M University director of athletic
compliance, told the Star-Telegram the school was not aware that
banned ingredients were being purchased until after reviewing
records requested by the newspaper.
Batson said he was unaware of any positive drug tests or adverse
health issues related to the purchases.
A&M athletic director Bill Byrne noted the school hired a
full-time nutritionist, Amy Bragg, in the spring of 2004 to help
identify banned substances.
"We are one of the few schools in the country to now have," a
nutritionist, Byrne said in a statement Monday. "She continues to
keep abreast of what is allowed and what is not."
Texas spent nearly $90,000 on supplements labeled as containing
added amino acids, the newspaper reported. Among those who made the
purchases was Jeff Madden, the school's assistant athletic director
for strength and conditioning.
Tina Bonci, co-director of sports medicine and athletic training
at Texas, said the school believed it was operating within the
rules when it bought the products containing amino acids.
Correspondence from a member of the NCAA's membership services
staff, Steve Mallonee, described the products as permissible soon
after the bylaw that prohibited them went into effect.
But Mallonee told the Star-Telegram that his approval was based
strictly on information submitted by the university, which sought a
review of the products based on their percentages of protein and
not their actual ingredients.
Under NCAA rules, schools may dispense only four categories of
supplements: vitamins and minerals, energy bars,
carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks and carbohydrate boosters. The
supplements must have a protein content of less than 30 percent and
be free of banned substances, as well as certain ingredients
defined by the NCAA as muscle-building.
Texas officials said the school stopped distributing the
supplements once it learned there was a problem.
They also noted the substances are legal and available for
purchase and consumption by an athlete at the store and taking them
would not result in a positive test of a banned substance. The
NCAA, however, prohibits schools from distributing them.
Dr. Steven Leslie, dean of the Texas college of pharmacy, said
the supplements taken by the school's athletes are safe when taken
properly.
"There is no issue of a health risk here," Leslie said.