Report of the Ivy League Concussion Review Committee

The Ivy League Council of Presidents, in December 2010, agreed to form an ad hoc Concussion Committee to discuss how the Ivy League could assume a leadership role in trying to limit the incidence of concussion. The Council adopted measures in football in June 2011, and charged the committee to consider the review of other sports.

The original ad hoc Concussion Committee expanded to cover multiple sports, and in 2015-­‐16 a new ad hoc committee was formed for men’s and women’s rugby. (See Appendix A for the committee roster). The Rugby Committee met in February 2016 to formulate initial recommendations. The rugby club and varsity coaches reviewed those initial recommendations in March 2016. The full rugby recommendations are included with this report. Following Council and other reviews, the Committee intends to implement the approved recommendations in the fall of 2016.

This report is a summary of the background information and data used to review men’s and women’s rugby, in addition to the Committee’s recommendations for measures to limit the incidence of concussion. Appendix B contains a summary of rugby concussion data within the Ivy League. For further reference Appendix C contains a summary of current practices in club rugby related to athletic training coverage and other aspects addressed in the report. Appendix D contains a summary of research related to injuries in Rugby.

Committee Roster

Kathy Flores, Brown (Head Coach) Beth Conroy, Brown (Athletic Trainer) Brian Jines, Columbia (Director of Intramural and Club Sports) Eric Wamsley, Columbia (Athletic Trainer) Dexter Kozen, Cornell (Faculty advisor to Rugby Clubs) Shanna Kornachuk, Harvard (Athletic Administrator) Sue Parker, Harvard (Head Coach) Wendy Bordeau, Dartmouth (Athletic Administrator) Ben Shuler, Dartmouth (Trainer) Eric Laudano, Penn (Athletic Administrator) Allison Rich, Princeton (Athletic Administrator) Duke Diaz, Yale (Senior Associate Athletic Director of Payne Whitney Gymnasium Adminisration and Physical Education) Greg McWilliams, Yale (Head Coach, Men’s Rugby) Tom Migdalski, Yale (Director of club Sports and Intramurals) Milli Luciano,

Official Ivy League Office

Robin Harris, Executive Director Carolyn Campbell-­‐McGovern, Deputy Executive Director