NFL teams up with NCAA for next round of safety improvements

INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL’s top medical experts are asking college football physicians and trainers to help make the game safer.

They want the NCAA to pitch in, too.

Dr. Allen Sills and Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president for health and safety initiatives, spent Monday and Tuesday in Indianapolis sharing data about their findings on the prevention and treatment of injuries. It’s the most formal presentation league executives have had with college officials, and Sills and Miller hope this presentation leads to a broader conversation that includes discussions about lower-body injuries.

“We’re able to show them what we’re working on and what we’re finding and how we’re applying that knowledge into the day-to-day care of professional athletes,” Sills told The Associated Press during a break. “I think we hope this is the start of even more regular interaction between the two organizations because we share the exact same goals, which is improving the health and safety of players.”

The two-day meeting included participants from the NFL’s health and safety team, the NCAA’s Sport Science Institute and medical staffs from schools in each of the power five conferences. It comes amid a rapidly evolving landscape of injuries in football. Sills is the league’s chief medical officer.

Over the past decade, Miller estimates the NFL made between 50 and 60 rules changes to enhance player safety. Members of the league’s competition committee now routinely contact the medical team before considering making additional changes.

Plus, as Sills and Miller have collected more data they found NFL coaches and players increasingly receptive to their recommendations and conclusions.

Players, they say, are asking more questions about equipment, such as helmets. Coaches and assistant coaches, they add, have shown greater interest in how they can reduce the number of injuries at practices.