Mason, regents order probe; Branstad advises full explanation
An investigation into what caused 13 members of the Iowa football team to be hospitalized this week is underway, the presidents of the University of Iowa and the State Board of Regents announced Thursday.
“The primary aim of this analysis will be to identify, to the extent possible, the root causes of this incident in order to create and implement effective preventative measures to ensure this does not happen in the future,” Sally Mason, school president, said in a statement. “It is an essential responsibility of the University to determine what is likely to have caused this rare condition among so many young men at one time, and to share those findings.”
Officials said that the study is to be completed in 90 days and shared with the Regents.
The statement was issued the day after U of I officials disclosed that doctors believe the 13 hospitalized players have rhabdomyolisis, a dangerous disorder in which muscles begin to deteriorate possibly as a result of extreme overexertion.
The syndrome can result in severe kidney damage or failure unless treated.
Officials said that the 13 players had participated in strenuous pre-season drills last week and early this week prior to being admitted to the University of Iowa hospital.
Miles said in the statement that a root cause analysis should be conducted to make sure “it never happens again.”
He also said that university officials had agreed to consult with independent medical experts, who were included “the earliest moments.”
Branstad: It is important to find out why this happened
Meanwhile, Gov. Terry Branstad said school officials should make sure that a full and complete explanation of what happened be shared with the public.
“I think it is important to do that. People have a lot of interest in athletes and they have been a lot of situations involving athletes including the highly publicized trial recently involving student athletes,” Branstad told reporters and editors of the Des Moines Register.
Branstad said that he had not talked to Mason or Miles about the situation, but said that university officials are “concerned about the health and well-being of all students and certainly student-athletes.”
The governor, who said he was a walk-on baseball player at Iowa in early 1970’s, said that the number of athletes affected concerned him.
“This happened to 13 athletes and that is a large number of people. It wasn’t just one person,” Branstad said.
At the same time, he said that what made it curious is that other football programs use similar training routines.
“It looks like they were following a regime that is used at a lot schools,” Branstad said. ”That is why it is important to find out why this happened. It is something that needs to be fully investigated and I am sure that it will.”
Here is the press release:
The health and well-being of students at all of Iowa’s Public Universities is of paramount concern to the Iowa Board of Regents and to the University of Iowa. As such, the recent hospitalization of 13 University of Iowa football players following pre-season workouts is a cause for grave concern. Our immediate focus is the full recovery of each of the young men involved, and we continue to closely monitor the medical condition of our student-athletes. In that regard, we commend the UI Athletics Department for its quick response to the student-athletes’ health needs, and wish to express our confidence in the care that they are receiving at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
“Going forward, it is essential that we take the necessary steps to understand the factors that led to this to ensure that it never happens again,” said David Miles, president of the Iowa Board of Regents. “This morning President Sally Mason and I agreed to a 90-day timeline for completion of a root cause analysis of the events that led to the need to hospitalize these young men. At President Mason’s direction, this analysis was already underway shortly after the incident, and I appreciate the University’s efforts to involve independent medical experts in the process from the earliest moments.”
“The primary aim of this analysis will be to identify, to the extent possible, the root causes of this incident in order to create and implement effective preventative measures to ensure this does not happen in the future,” added Sally Mason, president of the University of Iowa. “It is an essential responsibility of the University to determine what is likely to have caused this rare condition among so many young men at one time, and to share those findings.”
Results of the analysis will be presented to the Board of Regents upon completion.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rob Howe, Hawk Central. Hawk Central said: Sally Mason, regents order probe into rhabdo case http://bit.ly/hDR1H7 #hawkeyes [...]
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This will buy some time. But will it change the facts?
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I think the NCAA needs to investigate it, to many people think the U of I covers things up. Maybe they will after the U of I investigates in internally but then again no one respects anything the NCAA says or does anymore after the whole Cam Newton thing and the Sugar bowl fiasco oh wait it’s been going on long before that. But still I think this case is going to take a long time to get the real answers, if ever it just seems extreme to think that it was just excessive workouts and there is nothing else involved here but being out of shape and doing the same workouts that hundreds if not thousands of other college athletes do every year.
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Sorry, the NCAA doesn’t investigate things like this. They have a hard enough time trying to bust programs like Auburn that cheat.
All this means is that the strength coach will be the scapegoat and be fired.
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NCAA investigates things all the time. When people die or get sick from training or while in a game you don’t think they get involved?
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Give me one example — one — when the NCAA went to a school and checked in on something that didn’t involve breaking one of their rules.
And, no, I don’t think they should interfere.
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Well, think we all know it was not the workouts. Looks like they all were taking some sort of suppliment to help with conditioning. Those kids need to be up front with their Doctors for their own good.
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I dont think that. When a lot of them are saying that it was the hardest workouts they have ever had combined with poor conditioning the past 5 games. If it was a supplement then it should be called out and banned. A lot of guys have taken stuff worked out hard and not had this happen, curious.
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reald, pretty much all schools do the same workouts for their football players in the off season so why would this just happen to 13 “poorly conditioned” kids at Iowa?
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Sad that they are sick, but for me, I could care less about sports. We need to put more importance in science, arts, pe, social studies, history rather than wasting it on a bunch of men and women running around with a ball collecting points.
So what! put the tax dollars to better use and into better education for the kids, and young adults. Sports is sooooooo overrated and a waste of time!
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Sporting ability provides a chance at a real education for many kids who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Besides your tax dollars don’t cover U of I sports, their athlete department rules solely off donations and income from selling sports apparel and ticket sales from events primarily football. I guess you don’t think the kids who can’t get loans to cover education and can’t pay out of pocket up front who play sports don’t deserve that education either? Nice!
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Yes tax dollars are used. The U of I uses tax-dollars to keep their buildings and grounds up and running. A lot of donations as well are used for the same. The buildings and the fields the games are played on are supported by tax-dollars. Just like people that attend U of I classes and are receiving grants to attend are using tax-dollars as well.
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All athletics at the UI are self supporting. No tax dollars are used. I guess you are right.
Stupid is as stupid does. Or perhaps in your case, stupid is as stupid types.
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harassment and personal attacks
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Well when you make comments that are WRONG you walk into it. The U of I does not use tax dollars for up keep of athletic buildings or the grounds. The des moines register reported an article months ago stating that the state wanted UNI and ISU’s athletics to become self sufficient and not require tax dollars to support them. Iowa was mentioned in the article as the only one that doesn’t require tax dollars for their athletics. I guess if you don’t like sports or U of I you wouldn’t know that would you. Unless you have the public records to show that they do use state taxes? I didn’t think so!
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Did Terribly Braindead reach the conclusion that, “People have a lot of interest in athletes … ” at state universities all by him lonesome? No wonder he got re-elected, he’s like Wile E. Coyote, Suuuuper Genius!
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Joe, Joe, Joe,
It is no wonder you are sitting at home typing bashing comments, you probably aren’t smart enough to hold a job.
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We are all so enamored with your clever wit. Yawn.
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Who cares, they’re just Hawkeyes.
Next man in!
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Kirk Ferentz, who I have always loved and supported, should have made some sort of public announcement regarding this situation. He has not been a strong leader in the past couple months regarding his football team. Get in front of a camera and address the situation in as much detail as the law will allow.
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I agree. I truly don’t think it was a big deal that he was out of town, but he should have released a statment of some sort. I think the problem is that Chris Doyle is so univerally loved by the players, recruits, and coaches that it will be tough for KF to discipline him or terminate him if that’s what the situation calls for. KF hates to be in the spotlight, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do things you don’t like in order to protect your program.
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The university hospitals is well respected please don’t disrespect them by saying that we will resolve this in 3 months.
If it is not the kids then have the first one that came in release his clean blood workup and get his and parent comment.
Then the focus will shift right away to the trainer and supervisor. Ask them to take a voluntary suspension and issue a formal apology to the kids and their families. That certainly does not take 90 days.
Sally, we just came off the Everson trial in which he was found guilty of assault, no text messages kept, room cleaned up of evidence, 3 year process, DJK found with prescription medication, wrestlers arrested in the parking lot, 13 players in the hospital, 1 win in the Big Ten in basketball.
Might be time to look higher in the food chain.
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Sally Mason and Govna B has no business in this. This is a football instituion that has been built by KF and HF. I love these bandwagoners coming down on KF. I would trust nobody else with our program than Ferentz with Doyle at the foundation.
Mason getting involved simply blows this further out of proportion than it already was. I am a alumni and a money donor and I can tell you that Sally Mason has no interest in anyone besides herself and the way SHE looks. She could care less about this program and this is the first time she has actually had anything to do with football. She sure loves the revenue though.
I have a simple answer for all this: Tell the athletes to stay in shape during the offseason.
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Wow, just wow. So apparently HF and KF have built a university the football team can be proud of huh? LMAO
Sally Mason may not be a great university president, but she is one of two people on the U of I campus who can fire KF. You might want to keep that in mind, and then try and convince yourself again that she has no business in this.
What a silly, childish thing to say.
And blown out of proportion? 13 players ended up in the hospital. and most if not all are still there, days later. How can anyone think that can be blown out of proportion? Has that ever happened to any other college football program? This is serious. Get real.
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Jabber11, people are blowing it out of proportion, that is really what is happening because people are jumping to conclusions without all the information. Everyone is upset but instead of waiting they are just flipping out and saying KF and the football program completely out of control. You seem to be jumping to your own conclusions as making comments like “Wow, just wow. So apparently HF and KF have built a university the football team can be proud of huh? LMAO”. Yeah that isn’t childish on your part? You clearly don’t like the football program so you are you commenting on a situation you don’t know all the details of what REALLY happened.
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dave7605……My wow, just wow comment was in reference to Calhill’s attitude and comments. Calling the U of I a “football institution” that was built by KF and HF? Seriously? That is what U of I is?
Apparently I am a little bit older than you too…..as the comment about building a university that the football team can be proud of would refer to a similar statement made by Bud Wilkinson, the coach of Oklahoma back when they were a dominant team. To me, it is pretty sad that a great university like Iowa has been reduced to a “football institution” by some of its alleged fans.
Maybe some are blowing this out of proportion, but more are not taking this seriously enough. Wake up! 13 players ended up in the hospital, and most of them are still there after several days! I have never heard of anything like that, with that many players involved, happening at any other university. I would think that would be a major concern to Iowa fans, but apparently not. Apparently, it is more important to some fans like Calhill that the University President just keeps her nose out of it.
Again, wow, just wow.
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I never said it wasn’t serious but people like YOU are freaking out but we all really don’t know why the 13 players ended up in the hospital, you trying to comment that the U of I is soley responsible for it, is just again “wow, just wow”. You don’t know why so until you know why just relax and stop acting like the coaching staff and the university did this purposely and almost killed their own players solely for the benefit of winning football games. I think Calhill probably only thinks Sally Mason is involved because she doesn’t want to look like she doesn’t care. I agree she should be involved and Calhill’s comments are a little extreme but don’t tell me to “wake up” because I am a level headed person who waits until all the information is provided before joining the mob with torches and pitch forks wanting someone’s head before we know what happened. So you wake up, your freaking out without being completely informed!
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The physician in Internal Medicine at the U. of Iowa says that rhabdomyolisis can be caused by extreme physical exertion combined with taking statin drugs. Google “statin muscle building” and you will see any number of sites that suggest how statin drugs can enhance muscle development for athletes. Seems that the U. of Iowa physician may have a good idea about what was in those protein shakes the athletes were drinking last week.
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I am surprised that there has not been more talk regarding supplements. Back in Aug, a Ore. high school team had similar issues and it was thought to have been linked to creatine in protein shakes. Everyone acts like this is so suspicious, perhaps that would mean we would have to go back to good ole hard work and competitiveness.
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What a grandstanding play by two of the most overpaid state employees. I bet they will be the 1st two officials booked on the team plane for the next bowl trip earned by Kirk Ferentz and his players.
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This appears to be a classic case of a creatine-loading phase done poorly or with possible other factors such as too much alcohol/dehydration within the days prior to the workout.
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Another damn witch hunt. All of you morons are actually wishing there is something really bad happening in the Iowa Football program just so you can say I told you so. All of you are pathetic and it is people like you that has turned this country into a bunch of sniveling wimps with their hands held out. Always want to point the finger somewhere else. Coach Doyle is one of if not the most respected strength and conditioning coaches in the country. His program has well served this team with the upmost integrity. Get a LIFE witch hunters!
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It shouldn’t take 90 days to analyze this situation. If the kids are clean then I hope for a swift recovery. If not then they need to “come clean”.
We want a clean program with student athletes
that realize that the average college education is nearing $100,000 a year and they start to respect the institution (education) and respect themselves and respect the game of football or whatever sport they are involved in.
Football is not the reason the University of Iowa exists.
What do you think Nile Kinnick would think when he turned down offers to go play pro football instead to get his law degree and serve and die for this county. He respected the institution. They played both ways with 24 players.
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I agree this shouldn’t take 90 days but, please Fieldhouse follow the news! They did “come clean” by the way of drug testing the other night, they all tested negative for illegal drugs. I am sure the kids told the coaches they were clear but agreed to tests anyway to proof they were telling the truth and to rule it out as a possible issue.
I am sure the University knows what is going on I truly believe the U of I is doing what they think is right for the University and also the players. There clearly has been some mistakes made but I think in the end it will all come out. Everyone needs to relax until then. I believe if Nile Kinnick were alive he wouldn’t be on a message board judging people and grandstanding like most people on here and in the media. He would feel confident that the university that educated him would make this situation right and find out what really happened and how to fix it so it doesn’t happen again.
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Another University of Iowa probe. Excellent, they are always so thorough and revealing. About as insightful as their press conferences.
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AllenWms33, if you don’t have something to add besides pointless uneducated remarks please don’t waste space or your time here. Getting another jab at the U of I is probably something you like to do but this isn’t the time for that childish crap.
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Like it or not, athletics contributes to the success of every major university. It drives the the contributions that donors make not specifically for the athletic programs only, but for funding that directly affects acedemics, scholarships, and new university facilities. This keeps your university relevant beyond the tax dollars.
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Like it or not successful business people are the major donors along with the hardworking families sending their kids to college and not the guys paying $3000 for their prime seats it is the guys that did well in the business world that gave back.
Industrialist Roy J. Carver of Muscatine, Iowa
John and Mary Pappajohn of Des Moines made a $26.4 million gift commitment to provide the UI’s new interdisciplinary Institute for Biomedical Discovery.
Kinnick stadium was named long after Nile died but he would have also given back. He appreciated his education.
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