Southwest Conference Votes to Test Athletes for Steroids Starting in Fall

The Southwest Conference, meeting in special session, voted Friday night to have random sampling tests for steriods beginning in the fall.

Dennis Robinson, assistant SWC commissioner, said the program called for 36 football players and 14 other athletes to be tested at each school sometime during the year.

He said the program would be strictly educational the first year and that no penalties would be contemplated until the 1987 season.

“We’re the first conference to pass such a program, and I believe it’s a positive step,” Robinson said. “Of course, we will still have to write the procedures and consult our legal counsel.”

Robinson said the program would be for steriods only.

“Conference schools have their own individual drug-testing programs,” he said.

Robinson said the names of the offenders would not be released.

TCU Athletic Director Frank Windegger said releasing the names would violate the Buckley Amendment, a federal statute that protects the student-athlete’s right to privacy. The Buckley Amendment prohibits releasing personal information about an individual without that person’s consent.