Division II, known for its out-of-the-box strategic thinking, is piloting a drug-education program this year that is anything but prefab.

More than 100 Division II athletics departments have signed on to test an innovative Web-based model from researchers at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, designed to influence student-athlete attitudes and behaviors regarding alcohol and other drug use.

The program, called “myPlaybook,” came together from an intersection of needs. Professors David Wyrick and Melodie Fearnow-Kenney – drawing on their experience from working with AD Nelson Bobb and his staff to provide innovative alcohol and other drug-education coursework for UNCG student-athletes – received a National Institutes of Health grant to develop a Web-based model and needed a wider population on which to test it. Meanwhile, Division II, looking to enhance student-athlete safety and well-being in accordance with its strategic-positioning platform, wanted to try something different to complement the NCAA’s current drug-testing program as a deterrent to risky choices.

Thus, this fall, about 7,000 freshman student-athletes will begin an online education/intervention curriculum that not only helps participants protect themselves, but also provides the skills and knowledge to help them protect their peers.

The Division II pilot will focus primarily on alcohol and marijuana use, along with general information on NCAA-banned substances and drug testing. The program includes pre- and post-test online student surveys to measure success and tools to track student progress. The course also directs student-athletes to the Resource Exchange Center hosted by The National Center for Drug Free Sport for more content on banned substances.

Overall, the curriculum corrects erroneous normative beliefs, outlines ramifications of alcohol and other drug use, and gives student-athletes the tools they need to make better choices.

Among the pilot program’s benefits is how little burden is placed on athletics departments to administer the program. All they have to do is attend a one-hour Webinar on logistics and provide a list of incoming freshmen and their e-mail addresses. The UNCG team and the Web take care of the rest. Here’s how it works:

• After a baseline survey of all participants in August/September, the cohort will be stratified into two groups.

• In early October, Group 1 will complete an online intervention course that includes information about NCAA-banned substances, interactive scenarios and a series of situation-based “lessons.”

• In late October, Group 1 will be surveyed again to assess the early effects of the intervention. Group 2 also will be surveyed to establish itself as the control group to which Group 1 will be compared.

• Group 2 completes the intervention course in early November.

• A third survey will be administered to both groups in late November to assess short-term effects.

• Both groups will be surveyed a final time in the spring and staff will be interviewed to assess long-term impacts and the overall effectiveness of the course.

The researchers say the success of the program will be measured in whether it changes behavior.

“We can statistically determine the program’s impact,” said Wyrick, who in addition to his associate professor status at UNCG is also president of Prevention Strategies, which will oversee the pilot study. “But personally, I want to hear that student-athletes were engaged in the program, and that they were better prepared to deal with the pressures of substance abuse in the student-athlete environment because of it. From the administrative perspective, I want to hear that it encouraged them to provide more education to student-athletes, that it made life easier for their departments and that it was easy to implement.”

Division II Vice President Mike Racy said from the NCAA’s perspective, the program fits with the Association’s goal of enhancing the college experience for student-athletes.

“I’m very pleased the Division II membership answered the call to participate in this pilot,” he said. “This new system for educating student-athletes about healthy choices is in line with our membership’s commitment to helping prepare Division II students for life ahead, and I hope that the success of this pilot will result in a new tool for NCAA members that can help educate all student-athletes.”