Drury University is required to vacate its national championship in swimming because of caffeine. A single positive test cost the entire Panthers program its first team title since 2014.
I was not previously aware of this NCAA requirement!
The results of one athlete were completely wiped off of the board due to a high level of the central nervous stimulant. His times at the college swimming championships proved to be the difference between first place and not.
What is Drury University?
Drury, founded as Springfield College in 1873, enrolls approximately 1,600 students on a campus of 88 acres in Springfield, Missouri. Founded as a Congregationalist institute of higher learning, it claims a direct affiliation with the United Church of Christ.
The Panthers compete on Division II level of NCAA competition. They offer 22 different sports as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
The Panthers won a national title in March.
Drury University won the national championship in Men’s Swim and Dive back on March 15. It was the men’s program’s 23rd swimming and diving national championship overall and 13th national championship at the Division-II level.
The Panthers boast one of the best swim and dive teams in the country. Head coach Brian Reynolds has been there for more than four decades.
Combining the men’s and women’s programs, he won at least one national title in 34 of those 42 years. His 80% hit rate makes him one of the winningest coaches of all-time!
He was forced to vacate his most recent national title.
Drury’s most recent national title was ripped out from under them earlier this week. The men’s team is forced to vacate its most recent victory from Indianapolis because of a single positive test for caffeine beyond the NCAA’s allowable limit.
“While I’m disappointed for our team, I am still very proud of what we accomplished this year, both in the pool and in the classroom,” said Reynolds.
When the athlete tested positive for high levels of caffeine, his strong results were immediately erased. The adjusted point total ultimately dropped the Panthers from the top spot in the team standings upon recalculation.
Not only did Drury relinquish its national title, the one athlete who tested positive will also serve a one-year suspension. His name has not been released.
The University of Tampa finished as the runner-up at the Men’s Division-II Swimming and Diving National Championships in March. It is unclear as to whether the Spartans will be retroactively crowned as the champions or if the title will remain vacated.
How much caffeine is too much caffeine?
If you did not know of this rule before right now, you are not alone!
The NCAA requires an athlete’s levels of caffeine to be less than 15 micrograms per milliliter to trigger a negative test. That equates to approximately 500 milligrams of caffeine within an hour.
500 milligrams of caffeine within an hour would require a normal adult male to drink somewhere between 6-9 cups of brewed coffee. Celsius contains 200 milligrams of caffeine per can. Red Bull contains 100 milligrams per can.
According to Swim Swam, this was the first year in “at least a decade” with on-site drug testing at the Division-II National Championships. It proved costly for Drury.