The North Coast Concussion Program (NCCP) has received a $242,000 two-year grant from the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Defense to conduct groundbreaking research into the history and impact of concussions on NCAA athletes. The research is part of a landmark $30 million NCAA-U.S. Department of Defense initiative that funds the most comprehensive study of concussion and head impact exposure ever conducted. The initiative also supports efforts aimed at changing concussion safety behaviors and the culture of concussion reporting and management. The study will enroll an estimated 25,000 male and female NCAA student-athletes around the country over a three-year period. Participants will receive a comprehensive preseason evaluation for concussion and will be monitored in the event of an injury. At Cal Poly Humboldt, researchers will conduct baseline and post injury monitoring—up to six months after injury—of neurocognitive, motor control, and behavioral data in approximately 400 Humboldt athletes from all sports. Cal Poly Humboldt is part of the Longitudinal Clinical Study Core of the study, led by the University of Michigan. Ultimately, the work is designed to more fully inform a comprehensive understanding of sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury.

For more information, contact Cal Poly Humboldt Kinesiology Professor Justus Ortega at (707) 826-4274 or Justus.Ortega@humboldt.edu

Or visit the NCCP homepage: https://kra.humboldt.edu/nccp