Times wires
Saturday, June 2, 2012
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — SEC athletes testing positive for marijuana don't face the one-year suspension that comes from getting busted by the NCAA.
The finding comes from an Associated Press examination of the policies at 11 members of the league. (Vanderbilt, a private school, did not disclose its rules.)
Total punishments by the NCAA and SEC are unknown because privacy rules prohibit disclosure of positive tests. Schools are not even required to tell the NCAA of them.
Only Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi State suspend athletes for a first positive test (10 percent of the season).
Florida suspends athletes for 20 percent of a season for a third positive test and 50 percent for a fourth. A fifth means dismissal. Its program focuses on education, testing, treatment and deterrence, spokesman Steve McClain said.
Alabama allows its athletic director, coach and Sports Medicine Committee to determine what, if any, penalty for a first positive test. The second means a suspension for 15 percent of the season and a third a one-year suspension. At Auburn, athletes are suspended for half the season for a second positive test. At Arkansas, it takes four positive tests for a one-year suspension.
A second positive test at Mississippi means the loss of free tickets for family and/or community service. A third means a three-game suspension.
"We need to tighten it up quite a bit and come up with a good policy for everyone involved," athletic director Ross Bjork said.
Drug testing was briefly discussed at the SEC meetings last week. Presidents and athletic directors said it will be a priority at their October meetings, once they have more data. Until then, schools are left to handle situations.
"The issue is to make sure that our institutional drug testing programs are adequate," commissioner Mike Slive said. "This is something that comes up on a regular basis."
Softball: Hillary Bach allowed four hits to help Arizona State eliminate LSU from the World Series 6-0 in Oklahoma City. It must beat Oklahoma twice today to reach the championship series. … Samantha Pappas homered to help Oregon eliminate Tennessee 3-1. It faced California in another elimination game late Saturday.