At Its Meeting In Round Rock, UIL Takes First Steps To Track Concussions Among Athletes

ROUND ROCK, TX --  The UIL Legislative Council has approved a pilot program requiring schools to report data on concussions and hospitalizations among student athletes during both games and practices, according to published reports.

During its meeting in Round Rock on Tuesday, the council approved the proposed program, which will track concussions sustained by athletes, according to the Dallas Morning News. The data is an effort to get a grasp on the incidences of concussions for future study. 

The UIL will work with its medical advisory committee, the University of Texas Southwestern and the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas to create the program for the upcoming academic year. 

Officials acknowledged this is but a first step in trying to curtail the problem of concussions among athletes, an issue for which awareness has grown in the past few years with high-profile cases of concussion after-effects among professional athletes.

"We're kind of building the plane as we're flying it," UIL director of athletics Dr. Susan Elza told the Morning News. "(We're hoping for) more sound data and more structure to collecting that data."

Read the full story at Dallas Morning News >>